Checkmate
by hawktakesflight
Summary: The Seventh Move. The Emissary is revealed as Tabuu, but what can Lucario and the Smashers do? The game of chess gradually draws to a finish, but there is always room for blunders and upsets, and can the Smashers trust each other? Many thanks to R&Rers.
1. Trust

**Hello all.**

**Yes, contrary to popular belief, I have not disappeared off the surface of the Earth, but returning from a hiatus. Apologies for the unexpectedly long break, but things have been cropping up and I've been working on this idea for some time now.**

**In the meantime, I'll be simultaneously working on a D. Gray-Man fic, as well as another oneshot/fic in this timeline. Not for Lucario though, I've got someone else in mind.**

**Back to the topic: Apologies for the long delay, but finally I've got something out which will constitute quite a big part of the storyline. Hopefully I'll be able to pull this off well, this chapter took some time and I wasn't happy with it for the longest time. Also, I have no idea how to classify most of my fics, this one included. Rating may be revised upwards.**

**[Edit: Additionally, I hasten to add, this is _not_ an SSE retelling. Sure, the Subspace Emissiary takes place in the background, but this fic will be focusing on something rather different indeed. So, yes, all those averse to SSE fics, please do feel free to read on - fans of SSE fics, there will be enough SSE to see you through. Plus, hopefully this will be able to put a slightly different spin on the old story.]**

**And as always, many thanks to all those who read and especially those who review; and constructive criticism is always welcome!**

**Without much further ado, please do enjoy. ****Introducing: **_**Checkmate**_**.**

**hawk**

---

Checkmate

The invisible crowd cheered from unseen stands, their swell and yells and catcalls echoing throughout the arena. The floor of the stadium glimmered, shining as the two Smashers faced off each other at its opposite ends. On one end, decked out in his outfit of choice and wearing his trademark red cap, Mario jumped, and touched one gloved knuckle to his forehead in a salute to the spectators. On the other extreme of stadium, Kirby puffed himself up, and waved his stubby arms to an endearing crowd.

Master Hand's voice echoed from somewhere, as always, counting down the final seconds to the start of the match. Mario tensed, raising his fists in front of him defensively, while Kirby just looked around, and then waved to the plumber happily. _Three… two… one… Go!_ At that command, both combatants sprung forward and clashed in the center of the Final Destination stage, drawing more cheers and cries of support from the crowd.

Yes, it was a Brawl, just another Brawl in the Smash Mansion.

---

_All was prepared. All was indeed going well. Very, very well._

_He stretched, then gathered his thoughts together, and settled himself into position. Bringing his hand up to his chin, he stroked it__ slightly, musing. In front of him was arrayed a spectacular military-map styled area, depicting seas, canyons, islands, and expanses of space._

_The map was roughly square, split into many smaller squares. Tinted to give the appearance of a chess board, the field was littered with small figurines, most of them gathered at opposite ends of the field._

_Already he had made a few moves. His various pawns and pieces had started to spread out and develop, capturing territory as they had advanced. For now, his opponent had simply chosen not to act at all. Perhaps it was a shrewd tactic, but he thought it probably was ignorance. Sighing quietly, he wondered if he was better off playing against himself._

_He hesitated, before picking up a piece on the board. Twirling it around in long fingers, he eventually reached over the board, and delicately placed it deep into his opponent's side of the board. _

---

Fireballs continually hit and burned the pink puffball, Mario pumping his fists as Kirby wailed and was pushed back by Mario's pyrotechnic powers. Fortunately for the Smashers, Master Hand had readily agreed (Crazy Hand a lot less so) that Smashers needed bodily protection from physical harm during Brawls – to prevent it from being a literal fight to the death.

As such, the Hands created and distributed Smart Shields – small button-like things which could be firmly affixed to clothes, fur, and whatnot. Though small, these shields prevented burns, hypothermia, various limbs from getting lopped off by the numerous swordsmen… Come to think of it, one could really get killed by many possible means in the Mansion.

Thankfully, this issue was raised before many of the sword-wielding Smashers had a chance to Brawl – if not, the consequences may have been slightly more serious than a matter of singed fur. Luckily for him, Ganondorf was able to escape permanent physical and mental scarring, but suffice to say this, along with other unintended results of early Brawls, led to the introduction of the Smart Shields.

Kirby bounced back from apparent defeat, bring his hammer squarely to Mario's side. The plumber failed to dodge in time, and the impact sent him rocketing off the stage, yelling something colourful and incomprehensible in Italian.

Kirby waved.

After a drawn out brawl, both combatants were reduced to a mere one stock each. Kirby's lucky hammer shot launched Mario once again, sending him spiraling high off the stage and dangerously near the blast lines. Once crossed, the blast lines designated when a Smasher was knocked out of the arena proper – and in this case, the victor of the round.

Mario struggled to get back, but the knockback dealt from Kirby's blow was simply too immense. And although the Shield prevented him from taking any visible damage, it didn't stop him from feeling the momentum at all – it was like being launched by a giant catapult into the sky without any means of stopping. He saw the blast line quickly approaching behind him, and struggled to escape his own momentum, but failed as his back grazed the line –

---

Lucario pricked up his ears. He had been sitting in his small whitewashed room, having declined an invitation to go to the Brawls. He wasn't alone, he knew – other Smashers weren't there – for example, the odd two-dimensional Smasher Mr. Game and Watch.

And even though he was meditating, he had kept a watchful eye on the thin wooden door to his room. It had been broken twice – once by Snake (partially him, as well), and the second when the Assist Trophy Pokémon Trainer had assaulted him violently in his own room just the day before. So, it was no surprise when he didn't have much trust in the door.

The door wasn't the only thing that was troubling the Aura Pokémon. Since his introduction, he never really trusted anyone, but rather choosing to meditate and practice in isolation, meeting the others only at Brawls. He would quickly finish his breakfast early in the morning, so as to leave the cafeteria well before the second-earliest Smasher came in for food. _Trust_, he had decided, _is hard to earn_.

Not that the Assist Pokémon Trainer violently trying to _capture_ him did him any good.

Still, he felt a vague sense of uneasiness. Something wasn't right. He felt it through the Aura that coursed around him, that there was something amiss yet he could not put his paw on. He made a mental note to inform Master Hand of this, then closed his eyes and resumed his meditation.

A second later, Lucario opened his eyes again. Rising, he decided that he would simply notify the giant hand now, partially because his concentration on meditation had shattered anyway. More importantly, he simply felt this sense of apprehension and it certainly did not bode well…

---

Without warning, Mario stiffened. A glimmering golden glow enveloped him from the point of contact with the blast line, engulfing his entire body. The crowd stopped its murmurs at once, Kirby looking up expectantly.

Instead of Master Hand's announcement of _Game!_ and both of the fighters returning to the teleportation room, Mario fell from the sky as if the blast line had been a brick wall. Thudding onto the edge of Final Destination was Mario, but his skin had been glazed over and given a grayish, metallic quality. Mario himself was arranged in a pose, that of his fighting stance, both hands ready to emit fireballs, but he was cold to the touch.

Even more strikingly, there was a large golden plate affixed under him, to which he seemed to be stuck. Kirby, though surprised, plodded over and prodded Mario in the shoulder, without a response. Instead, the Dreamland resident withdrew at the literal coldness of Mario, looking at the apparently lifeless statute with wide eyes and many unanswered questions.

…Could it be eaten?

---

"What-a was that?" Mario grumbled in annoyance, surrounded by a sea of concerned Smashers. He had been revived out of his previous comatose state by Kirby accidentally touching the golden trophy base, resulting in a shower of sparks and light and Mario feeling as if he'd hit a brick wall with his head.

Immediately after that, the teleporter system had activated itself, bringing the two back to the Smash Mansion teleportation room, with Mario rubbing his head and Kirby looking around, slightly confused.

_No more pasta before bed_, Mario sighed, doffing his cap, as some of the other Smashers worriedly looked on. "Maybe you should see Master Hand," a worried Peach advised. He nodded, as the other Smashers murmured their agreement. Trying to lighten the atmosphere, he grinned. "Then after that, maybe we go for-a pasta."

The group plodded down the corridor from the teleportation room, chattering, and rounded the corner required to reach Master Hand's room. At the same time, they heard the soft _patter-patter_ of paws and found Lucario as he rounded the corner from the opposite end. Narrowly avoiding stabbing anyone with his chest-spike, Lucario leapt backwards, then bowed his head in apology.

Mario waved it aside, while Princess Peach asked the Aura Pokémon her question. "Where's Master Hand? We need to discuss something…" Lucario shook his head. _I do not know. He is not in his room. Was he not at the Brawl earlier, with you?_

The Smashers collectively stopped and thought. Master Hand's announcement of _Game!_ never really came, and they hadn't seen the gloved hand leave…

"Maybe we should find Crazy Hand," suggested Peach.

A silence descended upon the group for an instant, before everyone, the Princess herself included, decided that that would probably be a bad idea.

As they turned to leave, Lucario felt a small whisper of wind edge in his fur. It was nothing at first, but it gradually grew stronger. Involuntarily, his vision was layered over with Aura, the Aura Filters at the back of his head rising up, detecting an uncomfortably odd Aura immediately nearby -

Quickly the whisper became a breeze, and then a violent wind, whipping through the Mansion corridor at high speed. The vague Aura Lucario had felt suddenly intensified tenfold, and immediately a sense of uneasy recognition washed over the Pokémon. The others had only just felt the wind and were starting to look back, only to see Lucario leaping towards them, violently shoving Mario forward. _Look out!_

---

Master Hand swiveled in position. Nothing but dark purple and glimmering spots of light, here and there, like distant stars in the purple gloom. In front of him was seated a blue figure, seemingly composed of data streams, looking and observing the giant hand.

He didn't know exactly what happened, but right before the Brawl ended in Kirby's favour, he felt an odd sensation come over his entire being, right to his fingertips. Without warning, he felt himself being jerked backwards by extremely strong magic, as if caught on a hook and yanked backwards. Immediately he had cast a spell, golden circles spinning on each of his fingers, as he bound all the Smashers as trophies upon their defeat, with the purpose of saving them from physical harm. In their trophy form, practically nothing could hurt them – unless the trophy was forcibly shattered or broken beyond repair.

He only hoped they would find out how to revive the trophies – but the Smashers were not entirely idiots, surely they could figure it out…

His train of thought slowed as he observed his surroundings. Between him and the floating blue figure was the impossibly complex and large chessboard, with holographic representations of mountains, seas, and islands… and in a corner, suspended on a rocky floating platform, was the Smash Mansion. On it were dozens of chess pieces, each modeled after a Smasher, with a glittering gold base and a small statuette of the Smasher itself on it. Surprisingly like the trophies of the Smashers…

On the other hand, Master Hand saw, the opposing contingent was composed of… well, the Hand couldn't discern what it was exactly, but there were many, many pieces. Almost like an army… Already the game seemed to be at a monstrous disadvantage for him.

The figure reached over and picked up a piece. Suspended on it was a small disembodied right-handed glove, floating inexplicably over the platform. Master Hand visibly started.

"A predictable move, Master Hand." The voice was not unpleasant but rather soft, although there was a metallic and menacing quality belying it. Master Hand moved not, but flexed his fingers. The figure placed Master Hand's piece deep into his side of the board, furthest away from the Mansion. "In fact, I have planned for this spell of yours – and so will your Smashers fall: ironically, by your own hand."

Master Hand said nothing.

"I know what you're thinking, that the Smashers cannot come to any harm," continued the blue figure, hovering over the chessboard and resting one finger delicately on one piece in the Smash Mansion.

That chesspiece, which depicted a single Bob-omb, suddenly pulsed red. It then shone with a bright light, and consumed itself and a neighboring piece in a blaze of fire. The figure picked up the charred remains of the second piece, and examined it before carelessly dropping it to the side of the board.

"The Smart Shields' main control has been destroyed," murmured the figure. "I highly suggest you rethink your strategy." Master Hand said nothing, but his fingers followed the destroyed piece as it bounced once, twice, rolled and came to a stop on the purple-tinted floor.

"Please do allow me to introduce myself, before our game really starts," The figure seemed to smirk at the bewildered hand. "Tabuu, Ruler of the Subspace Realm."

Master Hand, however, curled himself into a fist. "It is quite impossible to shake hands with a clenched fist," observed Tabuu dryly, the very edge of his lips curling ever so slightly upwards.

_On the contrary,_ the Hand replied, voice cold and dispassionate, with just a little hint of sarcasm. _Master Hand, at your service._

And then he launched himself off the platform, fist-first, straight at Tabuu – the two beings collided in a furious shower of sparks and light and momentarily the chessboard was swallowed up by the intensity of the impact.


	2. Revival

**Hello all.**

**Apologies for the long delay****. I was distracted by another fic idea which popped into my head recently, a murder-mystery involving some of the SSBB characters in a different timeline from this. And: to be honest, the quality of this chapter suffered as a direct result, in my opinion.**

**What do you think? Do you want me to publish this new fic now? Or wait until **_**Checkmate**_**, or the rest of the **_**Days of Our Lives **_**arc**__**is done? Your choice, please leave your vote in the comments or PM me. If the verdict is to publish ASAP, the first chapter will be out by the end of this week.**

**Please vote!**

**To publish the new fic ****now;  
or to wait until **_**Checkmate**_** / Days of Our Lives arc is complete?**

**In any case, many thanks to those who read and reviewed! Special thanks must go out to Souldin, Shadow Blues, NinjaSheik, negative panda and lupyne.**

**Yes, it feels good getting back to writing again. Thank you all.**

**Please do enjoy the rest of the fic, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!**

**hawk**

---

Checkmate – Chapter Two

Mario was shoved forward into the surprised Luigi's arms, both the Super Mario Brothers staggering backwards and flailing their arms to keep balanced. Peach stumbled a couple of steps back, while the other Smashers further ahead took a step back in shock.

In front of them, the wind intensified to a quick, loud rush, a flash of white speeding down the corridor at breakneck speed. With the appropriate appendages and disturbingly similar appearances, one could very easily be forgiven if one had thought Master Hand had made an early return and had taken to barreling through the Mansion corridors at high velocity.

Crazy Hand swept past, not caring who or what was in the way. The left-handed glove wailed past the Smashers like a deranged ghost, announcing his arrival with a high-pitched cackle. The very edge of the disembodied glove struck Lucario a glancing blow, flinging him spinning into a nearby wall.

A crack, a cloud of debris, and a hole in the wall later, Crazy Hand had disappeared from sight, and Lucario was shaking the stars out of his eyes and slowly staggering to his hindpaws, still stretching out paws to grab the other Smashers. Crazy Hand had accounted for the odd Aura, but there was still some unexplainable uneasiness he felt, an unfamiliar Aura not like any others he had seen – _Get out of the way!_ he suddenly barked – _Something's _–

A dull explosion shook the Mansion, originating from the opposite half of the Mansion. Mere seconds later, several muffled yells and shouts emanated from behind the walls. The group of Smashers froze in place, not daring to move.

A slight scent wafted past the group, Pikachu sniffing the air intently. Suddenly Pikachu stumbled backwards, crying out something indecipherable, tugging on Luigi's overalls. Lucario took in the smell with his own muzzle, feeling the rush of slightly-burnt air fill his lungs.

"A fire," Luigi whispered. Mario involuntarily took a step backwards, hands fumbling with F.L.U.D.D., muttering under his breath. "Mama mi-"

The exclamation was suddenly cut off by a shrill scream from somewhere in the Mansion. There was a moment's pause, and then the group hurried hastily to the control rooms.

---

_Clink. Clink. Clink. _The avian stood upright, his spine cracking loudly. Falco rested his wingtips at the small of his back and arched backwards, elicting a couple more pops. Muttering something about needing a backrub, the blue-feathered falcon twirled a spanner in one wing while wiping beads of sweat off his forehead with the other.

The Smashers huddled around the pilot, who was left there staring at the metallic engine in front of him, a wingtip resting delicately on his beak. Finally he took a step back and squinted.

After a stray Bob-omb had somehow managed to wander into the Smart Shield control room, the resulting fire was only put out thanks to timely water sprinkles, F.L.U.D.D. and Pokémon. However, the main engine powering the Smart Shield system now looked like a cross between an overheated car engine and charcoal, and was just about as functional as both of them put together.

With the charcoal forcefully stabbed in and through the engine hood.

Twice.

All Brawls had been suspended as the Mansion residents tried to revive the machine. Falco Lombardi had tried his luck, seeing as he often tried to illegally – "…but successfully!", he hastily added – tinker with his Arwing's machinery, but even the avian pilot met with not much success.

R.O.B. whirred into the room, immediately dipping mechanical implements and probing the various electronic parts of the engine, but even the mechanical robot didn't manage to completely resuscitate the system. However, just when everyone was starting to give up hope, a bright spark emerged from the system, crackling loudly.

Everyone eyed the spluttering engine as R.O.B. whirred away from it. Coughing and spluttering, the slightly blackened engine started back to life, sparks dancing dangerously about its seams.

"Judgement: Machine not fully repaired," R.O.B. intoned. "Upon defeat, trophy state will still occur." A collective groan issued from the audience – but that was quickly silenced as R.O.B. continued: "However, Shields will be able to absorb the damage as per normal."

There was a slight pause.

Falco gave an exasperated sigh, then turned to the rest of the Smashers. "The Shields still work, but when ya lose, ya get trophy'd – so make sure someone's with ya, otherwise ya'll be in trouble. Get it?" The crowd gave a collective "ohh" of realization, drawing in a relieved breath.

"Well, we'll get Master Hand to fix it proper." The Smashers murmured their consent. Hopefully after a crazy couple of hours, maybe life as they knew it would return to normal; Master Hand would return, the Shield system be fixed, and for everything to carry on as if nothing had happened.

… it didn't.

---

The chessboard lay almost forgotten, even after the light surrounding it dwindled away and only the slightly warm, pulsating violet of Subspace dared touched its surface. The pieces on it started to lose their luster, but just then, there was movement nearby, stirring up a cloud of purple mist.

The large figure suddenly moved upwards, suspending itself in mid air. Turning around, the figure reapproached the chessboard, left relatively untouched in the sudden battle between Tabuu and Master Hand. The figure's shadow slowly fell across the board, eclipsing half of the pawns under a soft blanket of darkness.

Two large white-gloved fingers descended, delicately picking up a couple of trophies.

A sudden movement, a flicking of the wrist, and Master Hand's fingers sent the trophies of Game and Watch and R.O.B. clattering noisily across the chessboard, leaving them to roll on their sides and come to rest dangerously close to the edge of the board.

A hollow laugh petered through the emptiness of Subspace.

---

Surprisingly, months passed without much incident.

Master Hand never did reappear. Crazy Hand took over government of the Smash Mansion, but in all aspects a significantly inferior in-charge than Master Hand. Not that the giant glove cared anyway: the Hand's attention seemed to be perpetually distracted.

The Smashers soon performed publicly, executing Brawl after Brawl to endearing crowds. The defeated one always was forced into their cold, clammy trophy state by the defeat, but the victor had always revived them by tapping their base. At least, this was the unspoken arrangement held for all the Brawls they had now, and some Smashers still lived under the happy assumption that one day Master Hand would appear and fix everything in a glorious burst of sunshine. Well, one could always hope.

At first the Smashers were unused to the new system and the Brawls always ended in an awkward manner, but gradually they got used to it and being trophyised and being reviving soon became part of all of the Smashers' regular routine.

All except one.

Lucario participated in the grand total of one Brawl after the change. Assigned a high-risk battlefield of Port Town, the Pokémon Smasher only appeared because of his obligation for duty. With the adoption of the "Brawling in public" idea, Crazy Hand assigned them Brawls and partners instead of choosing their own, arbitrarily setting opponents, stages and timings based on the giant Hand's arguably-insane whims.

However, after his narrow victory over the Pokémon Trainer – only because of a lucky paw-to-the-muzzle that sent Charizard onto the track and out of the arena – the thought of defeat became yet stronger in Lucario's mind.

As the small crowd clapped politely and Charizard's apparently lifeless statuette clattered onto the platform, Lucario hesitantly bowed to the crowd, then moved slowly to the trophy. At first a little confused, but then reaching out to tap the golden base once, Lucario stepped backwards as the trophy began to glow with a warm hue and vibrate, and in an instant the dragon Pokémon was standing in front of Lucario again.

The Trainer was impressed, to say the least. Having never Brawled with Lucario before, he had been expecting an ordinary Brawl, but both combatants had managed to surprise each other to no end with their continual assaults and unpredictable attacks. As they were making their way back to the teleporter chamber, the Trainer caught sight of a familiar blue figure, and he and his Pokémon quickly caught up to him in a matter of seconds.

"Good match," he enthused, wearing a large grin, recalling Charizard into his Pokéball. Lucario blinked once, hesitated, and then nodded curtly.

The Pokémon Trainer halted, his speech turning into stammering as the atmosphere became significantly colder. "Anyway," he continued loudly, nervously cupping his hands at the back of his head. "Congratulations on your win. Thanks for reviving Charizard, I was afraid you'd leave him there, ha ha –"

The Trainer was only kidding, but the Pokémon didn't seem to be getting the joke. "So," the Trainer scratched the back of his head. "Same time next week?"

_I think not._ The Pokémon Trainer stopped abruptly, surprised, turning his head to face the shorter Aura Pokémon. "Hey, why not?"

_I doubt you would extend the same courtesy to me._

_Now, if you would excuse me – _Lucario bowed a little, turned, entered a teleporter, and disappeared from sight, leaving behind a baffled Pokémon Trainer.

---

_As Lucario walked with the small group of Smashers in the aftermath of the __Bob-omb incident, Lucario couldn't help but overhear Luigi's questioning of Mario. "So, what's-a it like being a-trophy?"_

_Mario clicked his tongue in annoyance, shaking his head. "Horrible. Like you can never move. You-a know you're in there but you can't get-a out." Peach __mumbled something under her breath, but Mario's demeanor changed instantly, suggesting they find solace in the Mansion's cafeteria spaghetti._

_As they left, Lucario slipped upstairs to his room in the Mansion. Closing and locking the door behind him, Lucario took the long wooden staff from its place__ and stared long and hard at the jewel at its end._

Imprisonment without escape,_ murmured Lucario._

_Suddenly, defeat became infinitely more horrible._


	3. Unreal

**Hello all.**

**As you may have surmised, I've decided to go ahead with **_**Checkmate**_** first after all. (Sorry, Shadow!) However, rest assured that I will post up the other fic as soon as **_**Checkmate**_** is completed, because it's something I want to get off my chest too. And as such, work on **_**Checkmate **_**is redoubled – partially also because I now have more free time!**

**Still, as a teaser (and an apology), the title for that upcoming fic is **_**Cheers**_**. Work on the first chapter's almost complete.**

**In any case, many, many thanks to Pikachu127, NinjaSheik, Shadow Bl****ues (sorry once again!) Souldin, lupyne and Dusk-N-Dawn! I know I promised you this and the previous chapter much earlier, so apologies for having missed that deadline I set out. (especially to you, Shadow –) I guess better time management's one thing I have to work on for now.**

**Of course, thank you all for reading (even if you accidentally clicked on the link, or were forced to read bad literature), please do leave a review! I appreciate all your reviews and criticism, even if I don't manage to reply to it as quickly as I wish to. Thank you all once again!**

**hawk**

**---**

Checkmate – Chapter Three

After a while, the Brawlers simply started to fall apart. Without Master Hand conducting their Brawls, the erratic schedules and odd locales determined by his less-sane counterpart only served to widen gaps between the Smashers. Performing publicly, the Smashers also spent much of their time away from the Mansion, so much so that it got to a point where they took up residence in other areas just to be around the locations that they usually Brawled at, although they usually returned to the Mansion.

One day, Lucario simply disappeared.

His absence was not noted for a while, as he had kept to himself and rarely interacted with the other Smashers. Often, what little interaction was a polite _Good morning_ or _Please do not step on my tail._ Shaking his blue tail free from under the feet of the other Smasher, he would then continue on his way and disappear out of sight, presumably to train or meditate in some secluded corner of the Mansion.

The last Smasher to see him was Meta Knight, with his keen eyes and knowing stare. The little puffball stood in front of Lucario, forcing the Pokémon to come to a halt. "Good day," the puffball intoned, not unkindly, but eyeing the Aura Pokémon who stood taller than him. _Good day, Meta Knight. _"Where are you going?"

_Out__. I wish to go out. _Meta Knight considered this for a moment, then stood aside. "See you then," he intoned in his deep voice. Lucario paused, then nodded. _Thank you._ Passing by Meta Knight, Lucario slowly padded around the corridor corner and disappeared.

That was the last anyone saw of Lucario for a time.

Meta Knight gathered as much, that he would like to be left alone. Perhaps a secluded corner of the Mansion wasn't enough, the Pokémon had taken to seeking an alternative venue for his peace and quiet; but never realized that Lucario would eventually turn out to be the first Smasher to leave the Mansion.

Following that, other Smashers started to move out from the Mansion as well. Unlike Lucario, they continually Brawled. They still turned up for their assigned matches at the assigned times, dutifully Brawling and laughing and hanging out with their opponents after the match, usually at the café near Animal Crossing's arena, listening to K. K. Slider, or – more often now – the little eatery in the Midair Stadium.

Mario, Kirby, and some of the older veterans had moved into residences near the Midair Stadium, a colossal stadium suspended in the air near the Sea of Clouds. The eatery there was constantly patronized by the Brawlers, and Kirby happily spent practically most of his prize money on food. _No wonder they're never-a short-a business,_ mused Mario. Still, like many others, he longed to return to the Mansion and the old way of Brawls, but that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

With each passing day the Smashers' belief that Master Hand would return waned. Some even tried to forget, concentrating more on the next day's Brawls rather than reminiscing about "life back then". Of course, "life right now" involved Crazy Hand in charge of the Mansion, and perhaps they might have had a point.

Said appendage was now roaming the empty corridors of the Smash Mansion, with little else to do. As most of the Smashers had left by themselves, the only two which had stayed were the mechanical robot R.O.B. and the two-dimensional Mr. Game and Watch. They… amused the Hand, at least – it was better than staring at empty corridors all day – and it was rather satisfying to pit them in friendly Brawls against each other on one of the Mansion's arenas, just for the heck of it, and also for old time's sake.

The flat Smasher had suddenly disappeared, gone, without a goodbye. Crazy Hand had presumed – had finally made the connection – that perhaps Mr. Game and Watch had left the Mansion just like the other Smashers, and thought no more about it. When R.O.B. announced departure from the Mansion, the Hand froze into place and didn't move for quite a while, almost as if stunned.

R.O.B. waited for a few minutes, decided that Crazy Hand had comprehended the announcement, and hurriedly whirred out of the Smash Mansion.

A couple more minutes after R.O.B.'s exit, Crazy Hand buzzed back into life. After a week-long quest of discovering that now no more Smashers resided in the Mansion, Crazy Hand resigned himself to roaming the hallways, cackling and chuckling loudly, as well as replaying old tapes of Brawls on Mansion arenas and watching them intently, every once in a while slapping the holographic representations of the Brawlers, cackling and rooting for random Smashers in matches that he already knew the outcome of. It didn't make much sense, but it was entertaining, and that was all that mattered to the Hand.

---

One must be strategic.

_In the purple vastness of Subspace, Master Hand's gloved fingers reach over, picking up the R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch trophies, turning them over m__ultiple times._

…and yet one must not be willing to sacrifice material so readily, or else all will be lost for very little gain.

_In Master Hand's fingers, the trophies of R.O.B. and Mr. Game and Watch blurred, then slipped out of his grasp and c__lattered noisily to the ground. The armies against Master Hand seemed to have doubled in size, increasing and increasing until they stretched into the shadowed and blackened corners of the chessboard and could not be seen._

_The colossal armies moved in one accord, swarming towards the corner of the board where a single, solitary piece lay. Against such incredible odds, the single piece seemed hopelessly outnumbered and outranked, a speck of white sand against a veritable ocean of darkness._

---

A few months later, on a rather windy day, Crazy Hand flew about the outside of the Mansion, relishing the feel of the wind through his fingers and the caressing of the warm light on the white glove. With all the Smashers gone, it seemed like then Hand had nothing better to do than to arrange Brawls by proxy, hoping that the Smashers would show up to their respective venues at the Midair Stadium or the like.

Still, even an insane disembodied hand would appreciate companionship, and so Crazy Hand again hoped for some Smashers to return, more often now than ever. Oddly enough, the crazy hand would never really bother about the Smashers, only until they disappeared from the Mansion altogether.

Suddenly, the Hand stopped in mid-flight, jerking backwards as if someone had suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and yanked hard. Silence followed for the next couple of seconds. Crazy Hand slowly swiveled in place, before suddenly snapping back. A distant, nearly-robotic wail echoed from a far distance, away from the Isle of the Ancients, on the opposite side of the Mansion.

Crazy Hand immediately recognized it as the cry of Mr. Game and Watch. As a veteran Smasher, the Hand was vaguely acquainted with the two-dimensional being, and recalled the Smasher as one who left the Mansion without a word. Nevertheless, although his sense of duty seemed as erratic and questionable as ever, at the moment all the Hand decided to do was to pursue the source of the sound, if only to find something to do.

Rocketing away from the Mansion in a small cloud of smoke, a hollow laugh left behind in his wake, Crazy Hand sped away from the Mansion. Through the emptiness, Crazy Hand rushed through it without any other aim.

The digital yell sounded once again, louder, clearer, nearer. This time, it was accompanied by a mechanical beep, which the Hand immediately recognized as R.O.B. Two Smashers! Accelerating, the glove flew at full speed towards a certain vector in space, towards golden glimmers that seemed to reflect light.

As the Hand caught up to the glimmering trophy of Mr. Game and Watch, lazily floating about in space, Crazy Hand came to a full stop right next to it. Nearby, the R.O.B. trophy was also suspended in space, moving along at a leisurely pace. Hesitantly, pausing, the Hand glanced around. No, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except the giant horde of hostiles charging at him.

Crazy Hand froze.

All around him, suddenly materializing out of the air, were crowds and crowds of little humanoid creatures. Clad in green, they might have passed for Link if not for their short stature, black faces, dead eyes, and copious amount of purple snowflakes leaking out of their backs. Nevertheless, they raised their weapons and charged, screaming and yelping as they neared the Hand.

To rid himself of the burden of carrying the trophies back, Crazy Hand prodded the base of each trophy with a single gloved finger. To his considerable surprise and amazement, the glove simply passed through the base as if nothing was there, the trophies shimmering in and out of visibility like – a hologram. A trick, a trap, and the Hand had fallen in the middle of it, swallowing the bait hook, line, and sinker.

It was a circle surrounding Crazy Hand, with himself as the center and the circle rapidly closing in.

Yet Crazy Hand was no easy pushover. And with months of inactivity, he had long been yearning for something to satisfy his destructive tendencies. Finally. Crazy Hand cracked his knuckles, the _pops_ resounding loudly and eerily in the face of the large army rushing straight for him, letting loose a crazed, high-pitched, and _long_ laugh.

Spreading his hand, a beam of black-tinted light shot forth from each of his fingertips, which sped out and struck the frontline of the incoming horde. Spinning around, Crazy Hand sent a wave of destruction amongst the front ranks, an attack which would have easily decimated any incoming force. As if that wasn't enough, the Hand clenched and unclenched his fist, inexplicably doing a single-handed clap: the resulting shockwave reverberated throughout the battlefield and consumed the vicinity in a blaze of darkness, so much so that nothing could be seen for the smoke.

To top it all off, Crazy Hand lifted a single finger, the outline of a humongous golden sphere around him shimmering into existence, surely encompassing most of the enemy troops. Suddenly, and without warning, every single patch of space in that sphere exploded violently with unexpected energy, resulting in a long, reverberating cascade of explosions and so much black smoke filling up the sphere, threatening to split it apart at the seams and spill out.

Through all the chaos, confusion and destruction was heard Crazy Hand's maniacal cackle.

When the smoke cleared, Crazy Hand visibly started in surprise. Not only were the troops not lessened, but they seemed to be continually increasing. Sure, there appeared to be some damage dealt, but far less than what he would have expected. Swiveling around, he quickly saw that their numbers appeared to be increasing still, and these troops seemed to be pouring out from nowhere –

Enranged, Crazy Hand's hollow laugh turned even more hollow and more spiteful, firing off continual barrages of bombs from his fingers. Although each of them detonated with a satisfying _boooom_, the effect on the enemy seemed to be almost negligible. Alarmed, Crazy Hand twisted his fingers into the shape of a child's gun, charged up a shot, and blasting it towards the enemy troops – again, this seemed to have little effect. Again in this other direction – no effect – in this direction – no effect –

His stamina running low, and the army nearly upon him, Crazy Hand clenched his fist, raising it up slowly. White sparks gathered around the gloved knuckles, seemingly composed of pure energy. As Crazy Hand began to glow an odd tint of white and black, he emitted a single, deranged, howl, which broke down into a dark chuckle.

Vivid surges of black-tinted lightning exploded violently forth from all parts of the glove, surging through whole sections of the army. Crackling loudly, the lightning fizzled and branched out, electrifying and viciously frying any unfortunate unit standing in its way. It was a spectacular light show, reaching far wider than any of his previous attacks, illuminating the entire portion of space in an immense glow of white and black, followed by loud and persistent crackling.

Crazy Hand loosened his grip on his fist, his fingers relaxing and splaying out, exhausted. Various parts of the glove seemed slightly burnt, blackened parts showing through the otherwise pristine whiteness of the glove. Exhausted, the glove didn't even bother to laugh, but surveyed his surroundings. Not a single army unit was left. They had disappeared, as if they were never there.

Never there. Never there? Crazy Hand whipped around, staring straight at Tabuu, who had assumed a half-standing, half-crouching position, a hand placed on his chin to suggest an image deep in thought. More disturbingly, even for Crazy Hand, a chain of light could be seen emanating from Tabuu, stretching for a while before it ended at –

Crazy Hand jolted as he recognized the right-hand glove at the end of Tabuu's golden leash.

Charging up all his remaining power into his fist, Crazy Hand barreled straight at Tabuu without so much as a chuckle, leaving Tabuu with no time to even react. Even though sparks were created and flew off Crazy Hand's knuckles as the Hand soared past, Tabuu apparently didn't feel a thing. Wheeling around in the air, Crazy Hand saw that Tabuu had simultaneously reappeared elsewhere, still staring at Crazy Hand as if he were issuing a challenge.

The Hand wasn't going to back down from a challenge. Rushing full speed at Tabuu again, Crazy Hand once again found his effort thwarted by Tabuu simply not being at the right place at the right time. Abandoning that tactic, Crazy Hand once again held up a finger, the outline of a sphere glowing into existence. Bombs of his making materialized in different locations of the sphere, then simultaneously violently detonated, flooding the sphere with a dense smoke.

Through the smoke the Hand shot once again, aiming for where Tabuu was last. As he neared, Crazy Hand saw a glimpse of Tabuu's blue head, and made sure his fist was sure to connect with it.

Yet something somewhere went horribly wrong, as Crazy Hand once again shot past Tabuu, who had once again reappeared in front of Crazy Hand, with Master Hand still on the end of the macabre leash of golden light he held. This time, the leash jerked into action, Master Hand soaring upwards to meet Crazy Hand. Two fingers raised, golden circles started spinning on Master Hand's gloved digits. The exhausted Crazy Hand tried to block his attack, firing off a couple of bombs in his direction.

The bombs seemed to hit, but as the smoke cleared, Master Hand seemed to pass through it as if nothing had happened. Crazy Hand neatly avoided Master Hand's furious swipe, which resulted in the two Hands facing each other – Crazy on one, Master and Tabuu on the other.

Master Hand raised his fist, knuckles crackling with blue energy. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to tense and fill with the energy, pulsating a soft blue hue. Crazy Hand attempted to repeat his feat from just now, a sphere of dark energy ballooning into existence around him, white-and-black lightning flashing about his knuckles and wrists.

And as suddenly as it happened, it was over.

There was a massive explosion, and Crazy Hand was flung backwards, somersaulting over himself as he reached his limit and all his energy collapsed in upon itself. Tabuu and Master Hand paused, then faded from visibility. Crazy Hand, however, lay floating on his back, gloved fingers occasionally twitching, but definitely down and out for the count.

---

_Well played, I'm sure you'll agree. _Tabuu mused, hand over chin. No matter what he did, he felt Master Hand's spell over his body, permanently encasing him in this position. As the two beings collided and attacked, Master Hand had cleverly managed to spin a web of spells about him, causing his body to freeze and lock into that position. An unexpected move from Master Hand.

_No matter_, Tabuu had brushed the thought aside. After all, look who came out the victor. At the end of his Chains of Light was Master Hand, one Chain to each of his fingers and thumb. All he had to do was think – and the Hand would jerkily respond and do anything he commanded.

Except removing the spell, Master Hand seemed to have autonomy over that. _No matter, _thought Tabuu, _it is but a minor inconvenience._

But back to the issue at hand, Tabuu now had Master Hand pick up the little trophy which had toppled over and now lay spinning on their chessboard. The gloved fingers closed about the trophy base, bringing up the miniature representation of Crazy Hand and tossing it carelessly towards Tabuu's side of the board. _Good._

_It's amazing how to capture destruction – simple, unreal illusions, and a lot of time and planning._ Tabuu inwardly congratulated himself on his skill, netting himself not one, but two Hands! The other Hand was attached to another set of Chains of Light, but being unconscious was now alternating between lying down peacefully in the corner, and fitfully fidgeting.

_Ah, but this is just the opening game,_ Tabuu stared intently at the board – or as much as Master Hand's spell would allow him. _And as expected, I'm winning._ Under his command, Master Hand's fingers moved to another spot on the board, hovering over another group of golden-based pawns.

_Time to make things more interesting._


	4. Strike

**Hello all.**

**Many thanks to Souldin, Shadow Blues, lupyne and NinjaSheik! I know you probably get tired of me saying this, but honestly, thank you very much for bothering to leave a review.**

**Thanks to all those who just read too! Hope you enjoyed it as well.**

**Right, I think I can say with certainty that the story will be speeding up – in the sense that I'll be able to write faster and post more frequently. Hopefully the next chapter will be out the end of this week.**

**And of course, as always, reviews, comments and criticism are very welcome.**

**hawk**

**---**

Checkmate – Chapter Four

Snow hung about in the sky, the wind howling and stirring up the white snowflakes into an icy whirlwind. The peak of the mountain was deserted, with only a small icy plateau reflecting the weak light. Slightly behind the plateau, there was a set of small spires made purely of ice and snow, one particularly high spire marking the highest point of the mount.

For a long, long, time, this lonely peak had been the site of… nothing much. Nothing seemed to happen on the lonesome peak, the white-capped mountain surveying all the lesser mountains about it with an aura of inapproachability and a certain sense of majesty. All around it, the mountain sloped off steeply, leaving the plateau somewhat inaccessible and secluded. Furthermore, the permanently bleak weather would drive away practically anyone.

A black paw fumbled slightly on the edge of the icy plateau, then another. Quickly, Lucario pulled himself to the top of the mountain with a jump from the ledge below, leaping in one fluid movement to land lightly on the plateau. With his knowledge of wall-clinging using Aura, as well as his agility and jumping abilities, it didn't pose too much of a problem for Lucario to scale the mount.

A cold wind rippled through the air, Lucario grateful for his blue coat of fur. Padding forward silently, he spied the tallest spire behind the plateau. Looking around him, he saw the magnificent, if icy, view of the smaller mountains about him. Breathing in deeply, Lucario felt the icy air fill his lungs, and then sighed softly, his warm breath creating a short-lived wispy cloud in the wind.

It wasn't exactly the ideal spot for his meditation. Ideally, he would have preferred a field or somewhere slightly less cold. Or the Smash Mansion, where he had to carefully conceal Sir Aaron's precious staff in his room – at least he would be close to the staff and would have saved him the journey. Lucario's paw went numb as he remembered how he carefully and meticulously sealed the staff away in his room, then turned and _ran _before he had changed his mind. Still, this peak had something to offer him which no other place did.

Some peace and quiet.

_I'll defeat anyone who disturbs me,_ growled Lucario softly. Looking once again to the panoramic scenery to clear his mind, the Pokémon leaped to the highest spire, balancing himself on one hindpaw upon it. Surveying his surroundings once again, Lucario closed his eyes and slowly, slowly, allowed everything else to fall away from his mind.

---

The blue figure mused, his hand still fixed to his chin, half-bent, half-crouched in a pondering position. Most of the pieces were already in place, everything was settling into the order he had predetermined.

The Game and Watch Trophy lay some way away from the chessboard. Every once in a while, some of his green-clad minions would come up to it, wring out purple snowflakes, and use it to create more of themselves. By collecting a sufficient amount of Shadow Bugs, the Primids were well able to continue expanding their numbers. _The Primids are a self-sustaining creation_, he mused, _and the two-dimensional Mr. Game and Watch was the perfect nursery_.

The green-clad Primids were now hefting large metallic spheres onto their backs, as many as a small contingent of Primids per sphere. Tabuu had long tired of trying to reach into the Smash Mansion's universe from Subspace, as creating and sustaining those portals took a considerable amount of energy and skill. Instead, he had restricted them to only important and vital events, such as the capturing of Master Hand and this other time, to capture the invaluable Mr. Game and Watch.

But now, things were going to change. Those spheres, when detonated, would enable him to have access to the World of Trophies as and when he felt like it. Plus, he would not need to expand any energy at all to do it. This came at an opportune time, since Master Hand's spell restricted his movements to the bare minimal. _It indeed is becoming quite the nuisance,_ Tabuu noted. _Perhaps that Hand knows something I do not._

Still, even with his plan, he needed someone to detonate the Subspace Bombs. Primids were not nearly as intelligent, nor did they possess the capability to do so. And how would he be able to spread the bombs around? Yet, this part of his plan was vital, simply vital. And yet the answers were simply simple.

_Who knew a robot had feelings?_ Tabuu smirked, then resumed staring at the chessboard, ready to make the first real strike.

_First, we'll need to travel. In style._

---

Meta Knight rested a gloved hand on the wheel, turning it lazily around. In response, the Halberd shifted its flight, gliding a little to starboard. He noted the night sky around him was oddly calming, and although there were practically no stars in this world it could still be called beautiful in its own way.

Another day, another Brawl. And now that another day was over, Meta Knight had once again decided to retire to his own ship, as evidenced by the fact that it had a giant replica of his mask over the bow. Soaring high, the gigantic ship provided Meta Knight with ample room to relax, rest, and train up for the next day's Brawl. The puffball set a course for the Sea of Clouds, in preparation for the upcoming Brawl with the winged Pit.

But now, all thoughts of that brushed aside as Meta Knight allowed himself one of his moments, gazing almost dreamily at the night sky. _If only every night was this peaceful_, he thought. Then again, the life of a Smasher was wrought with difficulties yet rewards, and watching the night sky was no longer something he could easily do now, what with the constant demands of training, Brawls, practice spars, and Kirby.

_At least that last one's the Midair Stadium's eatery's problem now,_ mused Meta Knight.

The Halberd was Meta Knight's pride and joy – after all, which other Smasher could boast the largest ship in proportion to body size? The Halberd was a veritable gargantuan in the air, fitted with the latest lasers and gun turrets amongst its edge to repel intruders, but inside, if one could look past its metallic interiors and dark corridors, its empty rooms and dank storage spaces… it was Meta Knight's. And the little puffball would have it no other way.

But now he was far away enough over open waters, far away from any familiar location. He again reset a course for the Sea of Clouds, watching the monitor from his captain's seat in the control room, one hand on the large wheel. Tomorrow he would Brawl, but tonight, tonight he would rest.

_Thunk._

He turned around swiftly. What was that? "Hm." Perhaps just a bunch of debris striking the hull, or some loose boxes in one of the rooms falling over. Still, something tugged at his heart, something seemed to be amiss. One hand continually on the wheel, Meta Knight swiveled in his chair, eyes peering inquisitively out into the open corridor.

_Thunk._

Suddenly, the control room whirred into life. Alarms blared and lights flickered. Something metallic was detected, usually the indicator of a hostile intent on taking over the Halberd or to exact some kind of payment from Meta Knight himself. Regardless, Meta Knight glanced at the radar, and was surprised to find that the metallic intruder was coming from… above?

Angling the Halberd's lasers and guns into the air, he was prepared to let loose a barrage of attacks on the unknown entity, but was halted by a resounding _CRASH_ and the horrible sound of the splintering of wood. Whisking his cloak about him and gripping his short sword Galaxia tightly, he swept out of the control room. Leaping off the ledge, his wings unfolded behind his back, allowing him to glide while his eyes quickly grew accustomed to the dark.

What he saw surprised him.

Out of nowhere, a large crowd of… unknowns were struggling to their feet. Clad in green, with shockingly dead faces and some wielding the oddest weapons, they didn't seem to be any threat if it wasn't for their numbers. The Halberd was huge, and its upper deck stretched for quite a bit. However, these unknown small fry had quickly covered the entire deck as if they were fast-multiplying algae on a good day.

One Primid aimed a scope at Meta Knight, and foolishly fired off a blast too early. The shot soared past Meta Knight in a lazy arc, nowhere near a hit, but in effect Meta Knight took this as a concrete cue that they weren't exactly friendly.

"Come!" he challenged them, swiping Galaxia in a broad blow as he landed. Immediately, those hit were thrown backwards by the momentum of his swing, landing onto others and dissolving into purple messes. He was momentarily surprised, but nevertheless continued with his swing, clearing a circle around him simply by spinning Galaxia around.

The Primids yelped and fled.

---

Five minutes later, Meta Knight wiped his mask's eye-hole with the back of his gloved hand. They weren't much when it came to resistance or fighting, but as for numbers, the Primids came out tops. As much as Meta Knight hacked away at them, more seemed to appear out of thin air – and they didn't seem to be focused on fighting him, some had even fallen off the rim of the Halberd by their own accord.

_Idiots. _murmured Meta Knight. Still, the worse they fought, the better he'd win. Raising Galaxia high, what little light in the night glistened off of it, the surrounding Primids gawking and gulping and taking a step back. As Meta Knight prepared to once again dive into their midst, his sword strike was interrupted by a loud _whoooop _and another silhouette of a figure in the sky.

"Meta Knight!" Meta Knight instantly recognized the infuriated cry. That someone was particularly angry, the irritation practically seeping out of the tone employed. Meta Knight looked up in surprise, that instant costing him his attack on the Primids and the figure fell down upon him. Leaping backwards an instant before impact, Meta Knight raised Galaxia to block at the instant the rather round newcomer struck at the puffball with an oversized hammer.

"Dedede?"

"_King_ Dedede," snorted the self-appointed penguin monarch, swiping at the knight with his hammer again. The penguin moved surprisingly fast, launching a series of swift counterattacks, forcing Meta Knight backwards a couple of steps. Meta Knight sidestepped him, remembering the king as a formidable opponent in Brawls, and his skill hadn't diminished since.

Gripping Galaxia tightly, he slashed it towards the king, scoring a couple of hits on Dedede's considerable torso. There was the slight _ping_ing sound reminding him that the Smart Shields were still active, but that thought was brushed aside as Dedede swung his hammer around, rocketing Meta Knight into the sky.

The warrior spread out his wings, gliding down towards Dedede, ready to welcome him with a furious barrage of swipes. To his credit, Dedede did well to defend himself against them, but in the end Meta Knight's still came out the victor. Grunting, a swift swipe from his short sword confounded the king and caused him to stumble back. The puffball took this chance and leapt physically onto the penguin, grabbing the protesting Dedede by his robes.

"Stop that." "Then stop telling your minions to drop off your ship and swarm all over my place!" Dedede yelled, punching the surprised Meta Knight off and grabbing the handle of his hammer again.

Meta Knight held up a gloved hand to stop the penguin, although said penguin ignored him, plowing his hammer into the space where he was a second ago. In a matter of seconds, they had resorted to close combat with a hammer and a sword. At the corner of his peripheral vision, he saw a bright flash of light illuminate the hull, followed a split-second later by a rushing wind and a loud _boom_.

"My minions? _My minions?_ Look, if they were _my_ minions would they be destroying _my_ ship?" Meta Knight grew visibly annoyed, his dangerously soft voice causing Dedede to grow substantially paler, his hammer frozen in mid-strike. "Wait, those aren't –"

King Dedede was rudely interrupted as a Primid stumbled backwards and collided with the dueling Smashers; and for a second both of them paused their brawl to stare at the confused Primid. Meta Knight suddenly realized the gravity of the situation – so deeply was he engrossed in the duel with Dedede, he had completely forgotten the situation of the massive swarm of Primids, and what other assistance they could be summoning next. Dedede seemed to realize this too, his beak dropping open and simply fixing his eyes on the Primid.

They turned to look at unison, and were just in time to see – and feel – the giant figure of Master Hand strike them heavily – and then their worlds went black.


	5. Trophy

**Hello all.**

**I apologize that this is so late… I know I did say that I had more free time in the previous chapter – well, that's what I thought, too.**** Anyway: I hope you all will enjoy this next chapter (and the chapters, and fics to come!).**

_**Cheers**_** will be further delayed – not because I can't think of what to write, mind you; the plot, first chapter, the murderer, motives, order and manner of execution are all tantalizingly and minutely planned out already – but because I do want to bring some closure to the **_**Days of Our Lives**_** arc. More on that at the end of **_**Checkmate**_**.**

**But for now, a large thank you goes out to Pikachu127 (sorry for replying the first time round – ) NinjaSheik, Shadow Blues, Dusk-N-Dawn, lupyne and Souldin! I really appreciate all your reviews… and as you may have figured out, you **_**can **_**ask me to stop replying to your reviews. I won't feel heartbroken. Not that much, anyway.**

**Reviews, criticism and critiques are very welcome. Particularly, I'd like your feedback about the jumping storylines – does it make the story too hard to follow?**

**So, without further ado, please enjoy –**

**hawk**

**---**

Checkmate – Chapter Five

_Ganondorf had heard the lumbering of heavy footsteps behind him, and turned around in mild surprise. Behind him he saw the large figure of Bowser, as well as the significantly smaller and much less serious figure of Wario. Snorting slightly, he turned to face them completely, the Koopa stopping and glaring at him. Wario laughed his belligerent laughter._

"_So, what are you doing here?" Ganondorf snorted. "Master Hand called you too?" Bowser nodded, grunting, still eying the Gerudo warily. They were standing in a little clearing, somewhere secluded in the World of Trophies. In the distance, they could see the Midair Stadium suspended in the sky, a faint twinkling of light indicating that a Brawl was going on. But where they were, all was silent, except for the wind rustling through the trees and the leaves crackling in its wake._

_Wario farted._

_Before Bowser could shoot the short Italian a withering look, there was a sudden rushing of wind, and the three of them turned together. Master Hand had appeared inexplicably in midair when they weren't looking, and now started to descend towards them. The trio turned to face the glove, who had now reached their height and floated several inches off the ground, facing them._

Tabuu smirked inwardly. It was easy enough to set up holograms of Master Hand, waiting for these Smashers to fall for the invitation. Promises of power, reward, and fun respectively had won these three over, and they now unwittingly were helping Master Hand to rebuild the world from the ground up… or so they thought.

Ganondorf was easy to bargain with. Putting him in charge of the entire operation and having Master Hand promise him a third of the new kingdom: that offer won the stone heart of the King of Evil. It was probably the ability to be in charge of all the Smashers, and being able to finally get that idiot elf Link to do his bidding and kick himself out of existence for good that did the job, the Gerudo hurriedly swearing loyalty to Master Hand and his plan for a new world.

Bowser was easier still to convince, the large Koopa immediately supporting the Hand's plan, even if it was just to get back at a couple of annoying plumbers. _It seems, _Tabuu mused, _that tensions run high in the Mansion, hm._

Wario was just in it for the fun, figuring that having a Dark Cannon to defeat other Smashers with just held unparallelled excitement.

Regardless, the three Smashers were now equipped, armed to the teeth and ready to fight for what they thought were their causes. _How wrong, how wrong_, mused Tabuu.

With R.O.B. threatened, and the robot giving in surprisingly easy with a unexpected display of emotion, all the pieces had finally set into place. The opening part of the game was over, and all his pawns were finally aligned exactly in the position that he wanted to. Furthermore, some things had happened that were outside of what he had planned to – Master Hand's spell, for example – irritating, but it was an indicator that the Hand actually knew some tricks. Tabuu smirked.

_Finally – finally –__ things could get interesting. _Tabuu eyed two pawns of Master Hand's, moving slowly across the board. A picture of the ship one represented floated lazily above its golden base, whereas the other held the proud pose of a Smasher.

With a mere thought, a large mass of chess pawns swept across the board.

---

It was unlike Meta Knight to be surprised, although with a veritable army of Primids overrunning his ship, as well as cleverly tricking Dedede into attacking him at the exact same moment probably diluted his concentration just enough. With that lapse in judgement, Meta Knight didn't see Tabuu emerge from his own portal, flanked on either side by glowing golden lines of light.

Still, Tabuu mused, it was indeed entertaining. As Primids fell off the rim of the Halberd's hull, they deliberately rained down upon Dedede's residence. At the same time, the Halberd's silhouette could clearly be seen from the ground, the infuriated penguin coming to the logical, but wrong conclusion. Following a series of Super Dedede Jumps, he landed heavily on the Halberd hull, and the fun began. Tabuu watched in amusement for an instant or two, and then commanded Master Hand to act.

As Master Hand moved at the end of his golden chain, much like a grotesque puppy, Tabuu felt something pulling on the Chains of Light in the opposite direction. Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, he caught sight of something struggling violently on the floor of the Halberd, but failed to see what. He suddenly felt Master Hand's spell constricting even more strongly upon him, the Hand obviously not wanting him to turn around –

There was an illuminating explosion and a resounding _booom _that echoed throughout the Halberd. As Master Hand swiped at the Smashers, sending them flying, Tabuu felt his Chains of Light snap and break under a powerful force. Slightly worried, the blue being restrained Master Hand, the worry lifting slightly when the Hand jerkily came to a stop.

_Then what –? _Tabuu's question was quickly answered when a maniacal laugh echoed, followed very quickly by the menacing popping of knuckles.

Crazy Hand raised a single finger, the entire floor below Tabuu glowing with an eerie purple. Tabuu had just enough time to have Master Hand block the attack before the floor literally blew up in his face. Swinging Master Hand around, Master Hand's palm connected squarely with Crazy Hand's fist, the impact leaving energy and electricity crackling between the two before they sprung apart.

As Master Hand spun, Tabuu finally got a glimpse of the left Hand. With burnt markings on his knuckles where the Chains once were, the Hand seemed a little exhausted but still very dangerous. What made this Hand even more formidable than the other was that he didn't play by the rules. Crazy Hand threw out of the window all acceptable rules about how combatants were supposed to behave, how to best engage one's opponent, and all but basic strategy. More was needed than mere illusions this time, because Insanity simply didn't know when to stop.

A single slap on the hull floor, and the rest of Tabuu's Primid troops were oliberated, sinking quickly into darkness and purple Shadow Bugs without so much as a yelp. Crazy Hand turned to face Tabuu, only to find Master Hand gripping himself tightly by the fingers. As Crazy Hand struggled to get free, Master Hand slipped his fingers into the spaces in between Crazy Hand's fingers, crushing his counterparts' with pure physical strength, borrowed from Tabuu.

As Crazy Hand shrieked, reflectively letting loose destructive spells that bounced upon the Halberd, Tabuu had Master Hand blast the left Hand backwards with a single gigantic shot. Airborne, Crazy Hand swiveled around, only to find himself staring at the main cannon of the Halberd.

A Primid pressed the button, a gigantic white light enveloping the Hand and launching him across the ship, landing in a smoking heap on the ship's far end. As Crazy Hand struggled to get up, Tabuu and Master Hand loomed over him, Master Hand's fingers glowing with golden light.

Golden bars of light shimmered into existence around Crazy Hand, the glove within beating upon it with ferocity. Master Hand flicked a finger, the cage floating lazily in the air as Crazy Hand attacked it furiously from within. Tabuu felt the strain of keeping the cage intact, even through Master Hand's Chains of Light. The rest of his plan could wait.

With some effort, Tabuu opened up a Subspace portal, forcibly throwing the cage (and writhing glove within said cage) through it. Entering it, Tabuu cast a quick glance around – the Primids were in control of the situation, and Meta Knight was nowhere to be seen. And now, in Subspace, no one would hear Crazy Hand scream.

_Hm. _Tabuu reconsidered. The Hand had provided him ample entertainment, after all – insanity did have some of its interesting aspects. Fine then, sooner or later, he'd get that Hand under control, bound away by Master Hand's own cage, lock and key, prized as a particularly rare pawn in his collection.

Sunken slightly in thought, Tabuu entered the portal, holding Master Hand with his Chains, looking all in the world like his macabre pet.

---

Meta Knight leaped forward, his short feet not even touching the ground as he glided. High above in the sky, his beloved Halberd was caught in a skirmish with the Great Fox, the Great Fox actually the smaller of the two ships. The battle raged on, pulling both ships in the direction of a mountainous range. The puffball glanced at the intimidating, towering peaks of rock and ice: if the only way to get to his ship was up a mountain, then so be it. The memory of the loss of the Halberd, although a long time ago, was still fresh in his mind.

Leaping from rock to rock, Meta Knight quickly scaled the mount, pausing now and then to catch his breath or plan his route. Some of the footholds gave way with the merest touch, and oftentimes he had to use his wings to glide to the nearest safe ledge. The young Ice Climbers, who had happily been scaling this particular mount as their daily practice, saw Meta Knight's ascension as a friendly challenge, the duo bounding up higher and higher and teasing the puffball once in a while – totally oblivious to the battle a couple of miles above ground level.

_Children! _Meta Knight thought. _Don't they know what's at stake here?_

Eventually, after a couple more near-misses and nearly catching up with the Ice Climbers, they reached the peak of the mountain. Nana reached the top first, yanking Popo up with their belay rope, both of them jumping and chattering about their victory. A couple of seconds later, Meta Knight reached the top, landing gracefully on the icy plateau. In spite of himself, the masked warrior allowed himself a tiny smile at their laughter.

"Hush," muttered Meta Knight, but the Ice Climbers took no notice, noisily celebrating their victory. However, a sudden tinkle of ice caught their attention, the three of them turning in unison.

Behind the icy plateau, further higher up, were spires of ice, each one higher than the last. On the very top was a familiar figure, perched precariously on the very apex of the mountain, eyes closed. "Lucario!" Meta Knight called, but the Pokémon's eyes suddenly sprung open, catching sight of the Smashers.

_You're here,_ Lucario said simply, his voice tinged with a bit of resignation and tiredness. Leaping down from his perch, he landed on all fours in front of Meta Knight, and then put his forepaws up in a dueling stance. "What are –" _Apologies,_ Lucario cut him off emotionlessly. _I promised to defeat the one who disturbed me from my meditation… and you, Meta Knight, should know how important promises are._

The masked warrior understood, he himself living by his own code of honor. Drawing his short sword, Galaxia glinting in the snow's reflected light, he assumed a fighting stance of his own. The Ice Climbers nervously backed away, but Meta Knight put a glove between them and the Pokémon. Still facing Lucario, Meta Knight warned, "I won't go easy on you."

Lucario's expressions melted into a small, sad smile. _Thank you._

Both of them leaped forward and clashed.

---

Lucario leapt backwards, the tip of Galaxia glittering dangerously close the tip of his snout. Meta Knight continued his attack, making short slashes in the air with his sword. Lucario raised a paw to block, the grating of sword metal on spike grinding in their ears. Skidding backwards, the Pokémon counterattacked, swiping the short puffball off his feet with a well-placed kick. Meta Knight quickly recovered, though, the edge of his cape fanning out into wings, allowing him to slice at Lucario's torso twice in mid-air.

Lucario stumbled backwards, his back colliding with the base of the spire. Icicles gleamed above, shaken a little by the impact, threatening to drop onto the dueling Smashers. Shaking it off, Lucario leaped forward, back into the fray, striking Meta Knight squarely in the middle of the mask, sending the puffball tumbling backwards towards the edge of the plateau.

The Ice Climbers watched nervously. The combat had gone on for quite some time now, both slowly but surely losing momentum and energy. The Pokémon, they noted, appeared to be tiring already, while Meta Knight's expression still remained unreadable underneath his metal mask.

Winded after a long battle, Lucario retreated into a corner, his paws aching from inactivity. After such a long period of meditation, he felt his physical power slowly slipping even as his Aura abilities improved. Meta Knight, however, gave him no quarter, continually scoring hits and driving the Pokémon into tight corners as much as he could. Even though he pulled off a couple of counterattacks, Lucario's movements gradually became slower, the masked warrior noticing this and capitalizing on it with a quick succession of moves.

As Meta Knight charged again, Lucario neatly sidestepped and prepared to deliver an Aura Sphere, but didn't expect Meta Knight to whip around and pull his cape about him. As the cape enfolded him, the Aura Sphere seemed to impact the cape but with a short burst of light, Meta Knight unfolded his cape, now appearing behind the surprised Lucario. The Pokémon whipped around, attempting to leap to the side, but Meta Knight delivered a strong swipe with his sword, connecting squarely with Lucario's torso, slamming him into the base of the spire he had previously been standing on.

The impact proved too much for Lucario to handle, and he heard the slight _crack_ing sound as his Shield gave way. As his back collided with the spire, he felt an odd, cold sensation spreading, unlike the chill of winter or the snow on the mountain. The sensation quickly enveloped his entire being, Lucario starting to topple forward. Trying to stretch out a paw to steady himself, he found himself unable to control his limbs, immobility already locking them and rendering them motionless. The high-pitched yells of the Ice Climbers reached his ears, Lucario starting to panic. Darkness began to creep into his vision from the sides, and his hearing subsided, Lucario still frantically trying to swing his forepaws out.

The last thing he saw was Meta Knight standing on the plateau, the wind curling his cape behind him, the Ice Climbers shouting voicelessly behind him, huddling and shivering together in their parkas.

---

_Three pesky Houndoom guards circled around the Pokémon, growling menacingly. Lucario would have glared at them, but the sand they kicked up __earlier had blinded him, rendering him fighting blind, forcing him to screw his eyes shut, trying desperately to blink the sand out of them. Fortunately, his Aura vision allowed him to detect them all the same, the Aura Filters on the back of his head rising up. This allowed him to blast the leader with a well-placed Aura Sphere, the surprised Pokémon flying three feet backwards and two feet up._

_The other two howled, leaping forward with fangs bared. __Leaping into the air, Lucario landed behind them, forcing them to screech to a halt and hastily turn around, only to find a couple of Aura Spheres travelling swiftly in their direction. The resulting explosion flung them both backwards, knocking them unconscious; but not before allowing a cloud of sand to assault their eyes. Despite himself and the circumstances, Lucario smirked inwardly at a favour returned._

_Now that the imminent threat was over, Lucario ran off, still mentally calling out for Sir Aaron. The war was about to break out, the two warring factions achieving neither peace and compromise, and finally all civilities and diplomacy had melted down as they marched towards each other even now. Lucario had quickly hailed Sir Aaron, who no doubt should have been rushing down to mediate peace, but where was he? Lucario ran swiftly back towards Cameron Palace, hoping to find Sir Aaron along the way –_

_Suddenly a familiar Aura came into Lucario's line of vision, the Pokémon coming to __recognizing it at once. Standing atop a tall rock formation, much like the one they used to practice wall-clinging on, was the unmistakable Aura of Sir Aaron, and with it was the outline of his tall wooden staff with a blue jewel on its tip. Redoubling his efforts, Lucario charged towards him._

Sir Aaron!_ Lucario started. _I knew you would come – _but the Aura Pokémon was stopped dead in his tracks by Aaron's voice. He was merely blinded, but this made him wish he was deaf._

"_Don't call me that." Lucario's expressions swung between puzzlement and bewilderment. He was his Master, hadn't he? Was he? Even if he had been mistaken about his identity, the staff was his signature, this would definitely been the Master he knew –_

"_I'm not going back to the Palace. I've deserted the Queen and the kingdom,"_ _Aaron's voice suddenly broke out, grating horribly against Lucario's ears. _But –wait – _Lucario protested, taking a step forward, but Sir Aaron leaped from the rock to another, past Lucario, and made to run off into the distance. The Pokémon took after him, attempting to chase after his fleeing Master._

_Sir Aaron turned around, seeing Lucario move. Hurling the staff he held, it flew like a javelin to stab the ground right in front of Lucario, the Pokémon skidding to a halt. _

_He__ didn't really know what happened next. All he recalled was shouting his Master's name, calling for him to return, before there was a constricting, nearly suffocating feeling, and a bright flash of light that appeared even in his Aura vision, overwhelming him for a couple of seconds. When the light finally faded, his vision was fragmented, as though looking through a blue-tinted crystal, much like the one on the end of the staff –_

_With a sudden realization of where he was, h__e felt his consciousness gradually slipping away, as though he was starting to drown in the crystal. He tried slamming his paws against the hard crystal walls, but it didn't move, leaving Lucario still trapped and drowning fast._

_And then he was calling, crying out _Why!_, the normally calm Pokémon crying out for his Master whose silhouette was now rapidly disappearing behind a distant cliff._

---

And then everything went black.


	6. Eyes

**Hello all.**

**First off, ****many thanks to lupyne, NinjaSheik, Shadow Blues, Souldin, Dusk-N-Dawn and Rhenron! Thanks to those who've read, too…**

**Critical feedback will be much appreciated. I think I'm overcompensating for the overly "angsty" emotions of other installments, and the action and fight sequences may be overwhelming. I've tried to strike a balance, but more importantly, what are **_**your**_** views?**

**On another note, writing for **_**Cheers **_**(an upcoming murder-mystery fic) has begun! And as such, the guessing game will commence: who will be the first to go? Is it ****Falco, Fox, Ganondorf, Link, Lucario, Luigi, Peach, or Pikachu…?**

**Many thanks to lupyne and Shadow Blues for guessing!**

**I know, I know –**** apologies once again for the lack of updates this past week. Life's been catching up, even though it's not supposed to… But now it's over, and hopefully I'll be able to dedicate more time to writing.**

**But you're not here to listen to my excuses, and so, on with the show.**

**hawk**

**---**

Checkmate – Chapter Six

_Darkness, then a small sense of warmth. Then noises, muffled at first, then slowly growing louder and more coherent. The shuffling of feet, the dragging of heavy objects, and the splintering of wood._

…_wait, what?_

Dedede lifted a glove to rub at his eyes, blearily opening them and revealing a world of colourful blurs. At first he couldn't make anything out, except moving green blurs in the mid-distance and a growing dull pain in his rather large posterior.

Shifting uncomfortably, he heard wood creak, immediately snapping awake. Looking about him, he was nestled rather awkwardly in a pile of wooden splinters and what apparently used to be some installation on the hull of the Halberd. He was conveniently shielded from the rest of the world by the remains of that installation, which let some light into where he was sprawled on the floor. He stared around for a couple of seconds, as if to try to remember what got him into that position in the first place.

Suddenly it all came rushing back. Random green idiots appearing out of nowhere, literally falling out of the sky onto him. Jumping onto the Halberd, confronting Meta Knight. Learning that it wasn't his fault, that the Halberd was overrun, and was immediately slapped into unconsciousness by… Master Hand?

Now fully awake, Dedede quietly scrambled to his feet, wincing at each snap and pop of the dead wood beneath him. Fortunately for him, there was quite a commotion going on, with loud explosions and occasional flashes of light penetrating his hiding place. Brushing off specks of wood from his robes, Dedede hoisted his hammer and took a peek from behind his wooden shelter.

It _was_ Master Hand! ...only with the addition of strange chains of light, one tied to each of his knuckles. The penguin's eyes travelled quickly along the chains, only to see a strange and foreign blue… thing. Tabuu swung the chains, Master Hand immediately sent flying in a calculated arc, fingers outstretched and ready to strike.

Shaking his head quickly and closing his jaw with a hand, what Dedede witnessed next simply caused his jaw to slip out of his hand and hit the floor. There was an unsettling, yet vaguely familiar cackle, which came from neither Master Hand or the strange being. In mid-swing, Master Hand's open palm was met with an incredibly similar being's fist, the two halting in mid air and the collision giving off a tremendous amount of heat and light and sparks. Dedede was still rubbing his eyes in amazement as Crazy Hand released his grip and lifted off into the air above the Halberd, then fell to the hull like a stone.

Almost a tad too late, Dedede realized what was going to happen. Taking a risk, he mustered his strength and Super Dedede Jumped, his large frame cracking throught the makeshift roof and propelling himself bodily into the air. Not an instant too late, Crazy Hand's palm made contact with the hull floor, a surge of dark electricity immediately expanding forth until it covered the entirety of the Halberd. The unfortunate Primids who didn't know better were immediately liquefied by the impact, melting almost instantly into little purple pools of Shadow Bugs.

The penguin Smashers crashed back down to earth with a crack and crash of wood, but no one seemed to hear it through the chaos that was ongoing. Crazy Hand was held by Master Hand, but was furiously attacking with all his might, launching bombs and spells that flew carelessly all over the Halberd. A bright blast of light whisked just overhead, Dedede feeling the heat of the spell on his neck.

Belatedly, the penguin realized that for the insane gloved entity, aiming was entirely optional.

But the blue creature was still attacking, swinging Master Hand around, as if the Hand was some sort of shield or blunt weapon. Eventually there was a gigantic explosion, flinging Crazy Hand back a good few feet, although the glove screeched to a halt mid-air and started wheeled back into the fight.

Dedede didn't stay. Regardless of who won, he would be left facing an unknown who could defeat Master Hand… or Crazy Hand. And if it was one of those mutually-assured-destruction scenarios, he didn't want to be anywhere around when the two parties collided.

_I have to tell the others,_ he panted, as he scrambled out of the wooden pile, not caring how much noise he made. After all, the din created by the dueling Hands behind were so unbearable, his escape would be virtually unnoticed.

_But they probably won't believe me._

Casting one last backward glance, the penguin gripped his hammer and hopped off the doomed Halberd. As he freefell, he heard behind him a shrill whine – and the ship's main cannon fired, illuminating the night sky with a single streak of white.

---

_Darkness._

Lucario blinked – or thought he blinked – and still saw nothing. Completely immobile, although he could not even see a forepaw. Struggling, nothing changed, but the Pokémon thrashed about, reminded horribly of his confinement within a Pokéball; or his Master's staff. Complete immobility, yet the horrible knowledge that you're _there_, somewhere.

He howled, but no sound came out from his mouth. Startled, Lucario momentarily stopped struggling, suspended by a sense of desperation. He was surrounded by darkness, complete darkness. And it was suffocating.

_Darkness, then a small sense of warmth._

There was a soft _splat_ as something flattened itself against Lucario's cheek. It's icy cold touch immediately roused the Pokémon, Lucario suddenly sitting bolt upright. Rubbing away the spot of snow with a forepaw, he shook his head as if to clear his mind, seeing the short figure of Meta Knight standing practically next to him, and the Ice Climbers peering anxiously behind the puffball.

The memories suddenly immediately came flooding back into the Pokémon's mind, as if they had been suddenly awakened. His challenge had ended in his defeat at the hands of Meta Knight, and then…?

Meta Knight offered a gloved hand to Lucario, who stared at it quizzically.

"You okay?"

As if in a dream, Lucario moved a paw towards Meta Knight's hand. Although the Star Warrior tried; at his height, he could only pull the Pokémon up so far. This snapped Lucario out of his reverie, himself scrambling to stand upright by himself, suddenly aware of what he was doing. Staring down still at Meta Knight, the gravity of the situation suddenly dawned on him.

_You revived me?_ It was now Meta Knight's turn to look quizzically at Lucario. The short puffball nodded, sheathing Galaxia with a sharp sound. "Of course," he replied, as if Lucario had asked something painfully obvious; for example, if Galaxia was sharp.

On top of that snowy mountaintop, something changed. The wind continued to howl, and the snowflakes continued their dance around the peak, the icy breezes rippling through capes, parkas and fur. Lucario glanced at Meta Knight, and allowed himself a small, rare, smile, his eyes' old fire crackling into life in the wintery landscape. Meta Knight's observant eyes caught it, and he offered a hand to Lucario. The Pokémon gratefully met the gloved hand with a paw of his own, the two Smashers sharing a quiet moment of camaraderie as the Ice Climbers beamed.

…and then the Great Fox slammed into the mountain.

Meta Knight flared his wings, the uplifting wind immediately propelling him forwards and up, the tips of his feet pushing his small body off the icy ground. "Come!" he called, just as he quickly dashed towards his ship. Lucario hesitated for just an instant, before he made up his mind.

Leaping upwards, he quickly scaled to the top of the icy spire he was on, then propelled himself off the icy tip.

The Ice Climbers were not so fast nor lucky. The initial impact of the Great Fox splitting the ground on which they stood, the duo falling off the side of the mountain, shrieking. Lucario turned his head back to look, but his sharp ears picked up the whizzing of the Ice Climbers' Belay rope as Popo deployed it, just as the side of the Halberd grazed his muzzle.

Suppressing a groan of pain, Lucario called out after them _Be careful!_ before continuing to make his way up the Halberd's exterior. At the top, the masked warrior quickly held out a hand, helping the Pokémon stand upright. Lucario twisted his neck a little, hearing soft pops, still trying to get used to activity after so long a meditation.

"This way." Meta Knight's low voice echoed in the metallic chamber. Lucario nodded, rushing after the puffball who had already started to glide down the corridor. His forepaws silently hit the metallic flooring, propelling him forward as Meta Knight swiftly flew past.

Suddenly, a flash of Aura entered Lucario's line of vision, the Pokémon doing a double take and coming to a halt. Meta Knight glanced backwards, noticing this, and his wings beat once and brought him to a standstill. Lucario turned backwards, spying a familiar looking box in the corner of the Halberd.

A quick sweep using his Aura vision revealed the mercenary Solid Snake huddled up inside the box, no doubt guessing he was safe and hidden. Lucario promptly decided to burst his bubble by gripping both ends of the cardboard box with his paws and lifting it up.

Snake, surprised by the change in lighting, drearily looked up. Upon spotting the blue jackal-shaped Pokémon towering over him, holding his precious box, he instinctively sprung up into a combat stance, fists outwards.

_Solid Snake_. Lucario monotoned. _Your box, unfortunately, is rather obvious to spot…_ "Paws off the box," growled Snake. He mentally smacked himself – of all the Smashers incapable of detecting a hidden spy in a cardboard box, he had the misfortune of meeting the only one that _could_.

The _swish _of a sword reminded them of Meta Knight's presence, all ready to expel the unwanted intruder. The puffball had already drawn Galaxia, and stood poised and ready for battle. But before Meta Knight could do anything else, Lucario held up a paw between the two Smashers.

His Aura Filters floated behind his head, Lucario prying into Snake's feelings and emotions. Lucario took pride in his well-developed ability to sense emotions and feelings, and now he employed it to good use.

_He has no hostile intent_, declared Lucario suddenly, still looking straight at Snake. _His intentions are the same as us, against the current commander of this ship_. Snake looked startled, and slowly nodded.

Meta Knight relaxed his stance, if only by just a little. "… Really," was all he said after a pregnant pause. Lucario nodded slightly, turning his head to stare directly at Meta Knight.

_Trust me._

Lucario suddenly had his vision replaced by his Aura vision, bathing everything in a cool tint of blue. Past Meta Knight's Aura, he discerned a bunch of hostiles clustered near the back of the corridor. Opening his eyes, he realized that that part of the ship was in shadow, making it near impossible to see them otherwise.

_Hostiles at the back_, Lucario reported, immediately turning his back to Snake and raising his forepaws, which now burned dangerously with Aura. Similarly, Meta Knight slashed the air with his sword, ready to rush forward.

The Primids yelped, some charging forward while some stayed quivering at the back. Altogether, they didn't pose a very formidable force if not for the fact they came in such numbers which allowed for pure idiocy in their ranks, and yet still have a chance of overwhelming experienced Smashers.

Fortunately for the Smashers, this was just a small platoon of Primids. As they charged forward, a single Aura Sphere collided into the lead Primid, splicing it neatly into two and engulfing the corridor in a blue glow.

The Primids shrieked and fell back, but not fast enough before Meta Knight plowed into their midst. Whirling around, he quickly created a circle of dead Primids about him, their bodies quickly dissolving into purple Shadow Bugs. Lucario could sense the deep-seated thirst for revenge welling up within the warrior as he hacked away at the Primids, trying to regain control of his beloved ship.

As Lucario disposed of a Primid, he felt a wind at his back, whipping around only to see three Primids leaping onto him from a nearby crate. Bracing himself, Lucario was ready to be tackled to the ground, but a midair explosion engulfed the trio in a ball of flame. Staring around, Lucario spotted Snake neatly tucking away his Nikita rocket launcher, dusting his hands before engaging with another Primid.

With Snake joining in the fight, it wasn't long before the corridor was cleared of Primids. Meta Knight sheathed his sword, then pointed at the end of the corridor with his glove. The control room lay not far beyond.

---

Tabuu watched as golden-based pawns slowly congregated, slowly getting more massive and more dangerous. Many of his own pawns had been defeated, his rooks and knights fallen and discarded by the side of the chessboard; outsmarted and outmaneuvered by masses of the Smashers; ironically much like how he had used Primids to overwhelm them at first.

Piece after piece had fallen, almost like a domino effect. With each subsequent victory, the Smashers became more confident, defeating increasing numbers of small fry Primid troops and his higher-ranking generals. Himself and Master Hand still kept behind the scene; only holograms of Master Hand were sent to Ganondorf to instruct him as were fit.

But even under his leadership, his master plan slowly unraveled and started to split apart at the seams. In only a matter of time, the entire – increasingly formidable, he grudgingly admitted – contingent of Smashers would be right on the doorstep of victory.

Not if he could help it.

If there was one thing Tabuu was, it was meticulous. He always had a backup plan. The amount of time he spent wasn't going to be wasted because it didn't go exactly the way he had envisioned it in his head. Even if the Smashers beat down his front door and left nothing on the chessboard except the king, they would still be eventually defeated nonetheless.

As he thought, the king piece moved ever so slightly across the board, displaying a bluish tinted humanoid hovering over the golden base. As he watched, the piece shimmered and glowed, eventually coating itself with a layer of light.


	7. Defied

**Hello all.**

**Finally, we reach the conclusion of **_**Checkmate**_**. I apologise for the delay - not only did the writing take very long, I was also faced with an Internet outage...**

**Many thanks to all those who've supported me throughout this fic – NinjaSheik, lupyne, Shadow Blues, Dusk-N-Dawn and Souldin… thanks also goes out to negative panda, Pikachu127, Rhenroh and Sugar Baby Cresselia. Really, without your support this entire thing would have been so much worse off.**

**Moving on from here, I'm going to wrap up the **_**Days of Our Lives**_** arc as quickly as I can. The appeal's starting to die out, and there's something to be said for not dragging on an arc for longer than it's welcome.**

**That said, I hope to be putting on two final spins on the arc, with upcoming oneshots **_**Reflection**_** and **_**Stars**_**. Please do keep a lookout for those, as those will provide some sort of closure to everything. And of course, after those comes **_**Cheers**_**, which will be in an entirely different environment. It's been time for a change of scenery, and I must say that I'm enjoying myself immensely as I write for **_**Reflection**_** and **_**Cheers**_**.**

**But back to the point. Thank you all once again, you guys have really made all the work worthwhile, and for that I thank you all. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome. So please, sit back, relax, and enjoy –**

**hawk**

**---**

Checkmate – Chapter Seven

Not long after, they were all crowded back on the Halberd. Not just Meta Knight, Lucario and Snake, but almost the entire roster of Smashers. The Brawlers lined the metallic corridors of the ship. In fact, after they had gathered on Meta Knight's ship, the corridors seemed to be spilling over with the various Smashers.

Meta Knight silently walked to the head of the crowd, the assorted Smashers parting to let the diminutive warrior pass. As he did, he ran a glove along the riveted surface of one of the hallways, feeling its rough surface through the material of his glove, relishing each slight bump and the uneven texture of the wall, until it came to an abrupt halt at a doorway.

Lightly gripping the edge of the rusty door, he allowed his eyes to travel. The Smashers by now had fallen silent, watching Meta Knight as his gaze travelled slowly from the arched doorway, to the rusty walls, and to the corridor roof and floors.

Releasing his grip, he slowly walked to the front of all the Smashers, his back towards them, choosing to face instead an open door. That open door lead directly to the bow of the ship, the control room of the entire Halberd, and the captain's chair that once had been his. And now, he had reclaimed it.

After his long search, the Halberd was his once again. To top it all off, the Smashers were once again reunited, after many, many long nights. The Smashers all threw their gazes at him, from the eternally hungry and unfortunately familiar face of Kirby to the other Smashers from other universes, all at one point on the other suffering from the invasion from Subspace. Sure enough, Meta Knight would not have taken kindly to them all on the Halberd at the same time – nothing to say of them stowing their ships on in the Halberd cargo – but this was a special occasion.

It would mark the beginning of the end for the Subspace Army.

Turning around, his cape flared out behind him, eventually settling behind him in a dignified manner. At the same time, he withdrew his short sword, what little light there was in the dusty corridor immediately reflecting off the golden blade. Holding it up high, like a baton-wielding conductor, the sword's reflected brilliance glimmered in the dusky hallway.

"Let's go."

---

They saw it long before it saw them. The Subspace Gunship was a massive metallic monster out of a giant Subspace portal, armed to its very teeth with smaller gun turrets on its side and a singular ridiculously, almost comically large main cannon. Its purpose was to create larger and greater Subspace portals more efficiently, but it was adequately prepared to defend itself with a formidable arsenal of weapons.

Over the horizon, Meta Knight's hand floated almost dreamily over the rim of the captain's steering wheel, sending the Halberd yawning gently to one side. Reaching for the controls for Halberd's own weapons, Meta Knight calculated the possibilities in his head. If he'd got in the first hit, there was a possible chance that he would be able to take down the Gunship, even without the need for Kirby's back-up plan…

The Halberd was no floating coffin by itself either. It was well-equipped with its own supply of turrets, coupled with a large cannon on its deck – which apparently bore marks of usage from the Subspace Army, Meta Knight observed – which ensured that the Halberd posed a considerable threat to the conventional opponents, such as would-be pirates and boarders.

However, the Gunship wasn't a conventional opponent.

A bright flash of light soared in an arc, quickly approaching the Halberd. It appeared to be on a collision course, but Meta Knight saw it coming and quickly lifted the Halberd out of danger, the blast passing harmlessly below the Halberd's metal underbelly. However, it was immediately followed by ten more of its brethren, and many more behind them… and now that the initial shock was over, the firing sounds reached Meta Knight's ears, confirming that the Gunship had already started its assault.

"Brace yourself!" commanded Meta Knight over the intercom, before strapping himself to the captain's seat, and sending the Halberd rocketing forward and towards a side. In doing so, most of the shots skimmed past the ship, but a single shot glanced off its exterior, leaving a burn mark in its wake. Meta Knight winced, but his eyes widened ever so slightly at the sudden barrage of firepower from his opponent.

The innumerable turrets on the side of the Gunship had started to open fire, resulting in thousands of low-damage, yet overwhelming barrage of shots being sent directly to the Halberd's doorstep. Impossible as it was to evade all the shots, Meta Knight swerved and yawed the Halberd, resulting in only superficial damage to the Halberd, at most, severe scorch marks on its flanks.

In return, the Halberd opened fire, its own turrets madly machine-gunning ammunition in the general direction of the Gunship. Due to its colossal size, it would probably result in hits; yet due to its colossal size, it would probably result in nothing more than very minor worries about the paintwork. The main cannon of the Halberd was slowly gathering its charge, and very soon it would be ready to fir–

There was a sickening crunch, and Meta Knight instinctively whipped around. A fin had finally given in to the repeated barrage of ammo, and a couple of on-target high-power shots had done in another. Already many other sections of the Halberd were increasingly stressed, and the hull itself was sustaining heavy damage. Just as that realization occurred to him, the scorch of heat informed him that another shot had passed close by, and how close the Halberd was to –

An alarm blared, Meta Knight glancing down at his controls. Port wing breached, starboard side quickly giving way. The hull was holding, but the main cannon would be ready to fire any minute now, and then the Halberd might just stand a chance…

Just as Meta Knight hoped against hope, a high-energy shot connected squarely with the main cannon, physically ripping it off its hinges and sending it clattering loudly across the deck, almost like a fallen giant's hand, eliciting a wail from a high-pitched alarm. Electricity crackling about it, its charge dying away and releasing in sporadic explosive bursts, the cannon body dipped into the Halberd itself, cracking open the deck and starting to fall.

After the fight with the Great Fox, in which Meta Knight wrestled back control of the Halberd, it was already not at its peak. And yet, it managed to nearly crush the Great Fox, separately taking out the Ice Climbers and very nearly Meta Knight and Lucario, too. But now, even the formidable Halberd seemed to have met its match. Conversely, the Gunship's main destructive cannon was a glimmer of light, signaling it was ready to fire. In a couple of seconds, Meta Knight made his decision.

Reaching over for the intercom microphone, he calmly dictated that the Smashers leave. It was a good thing that they had their smaller ships safely stowed away in the Halberd's cargo; but although the Halberd was lost Meta Knight wouldn't forgive himself if he had let them and their ships go down with it. After he gave the order, he simply let go of the microphone, its bendy stem bounding back into its original position, and the puffball collapsing backwards into his chair.

And so, amid the destruction, the smoky control room, and the alarms blaring, Meta Knight rested a single hand on the top of the steering wheel, occasionally gently tilting it left and right; almost as if he was out taking the Halberd for a cruise.

"So, this is how it ends," he murmured to himself.

_Blam._

The door to the control room violently swung open, slamming against the wall behind it, the grinding sound of metal on metal jolting Meta Knight out of his reverie. Turning around, he saw the figure of Captain Falcon standing in the doorway, helmet on and visor down.

"Let's go, Meta Knight. The Falcon Flyer's ready, so are the other Smashers. We gotta get out of here, the Halberd won't hold for much longer –"

"I know," Meta Knight cut off the bounty hunter, turning and staring ahead at the scenery of destruction unfolding in front of him. Flashing lights vied for Meta Knight's attention, informing him of heavier and heavier damage the Halberd was sustaining. The alarms' voices started to fail, their ringing starting to falter and descending into pathetic whining. How far from the great and mighty Halberd just a couple of weeks ago, when he was slowly taking it for a joyride at the outskirts of Skyworld and admiring the night sky! Here Meta Knight took one hand off the wheel, turning to squarely face the Captain.

"But the Halberd is mine."

There was a sudden electronic whine, Meta Knight snapping his head backwards towards the windshield. In front of him he saw a pinprick of light, moments before he heard the deafening roar of the Gunship's main cannon. In a couple of seconds its powerful homing beam would develop, eventually to fire and reach the Halberd no matter what he did – and then who knew what then?

Ignoring the muttering Captain behind him, Meta Knight thought it would be best to repeat the order for Smashers to abandon the Halberd in their respective ships. But as he reached for intercom microphone he saw a growing different, reddish fire reflected in the windshield… from the inside.

Directly behind him.

His eyes widened as he whipped around, his hand immediately going to his sword, a little too late. "Captain, what are you –"

"PUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNCH –"

---

Even here, it didn't look good. There were red warning lights aglow, illuminating the hall in a sickening reddish tint. The Captain, glad for his fast feet, Falcon Dashed the last few feet to his vehicle. Lucario, however, was outside, staring anxiously at the Captain.

"Get in!"

_I believe_ _Meta Knig – _"Just get in!" Before the Aura Pokémon could protest, the Captain threw something into his paws, Lucario instinctively grabbing and holding onto it. Before he knew what was going on, the Captain had seized the opportunity, picked up the shorter Lucario by the scruff of his neck, and forcibly flung him into the open door of the Falcon Flyer.

The Falcon Flyer's door was still open, so the Captain immediately jumped into the open hatch and slammed it shut. Solid Snake was beside him, otherwise, no one else was inside. Without a moment to lose, the Captain floored the accelerator, the force causing Lucario to stagger backwards into the backseat of the Flyer, as it followed closely behind Falco's Arwing taking off into the sky from the Halberd's gigantic cargo hold.

For the first time, Lucario inspected the round thing he caught, to be surprised when it turned out to be an unconscious Meta Knight. He hardly had the time to react before the Flyer shifted gear and roared into action, speeding outward at a spectacularly fast speed. The racers on Port Down Aero Drive were extremely fast, capable of knocking unsuspecting Smashers out of the arena in a hit; but evidently there was a reason why Captain Falcon was their racing champion.

_What – _"Refused to abandon his ship. Had to Falcon Punch him into the ground then skedaddle," the Captain answered, without so much as a look back. Startled, Lucario examined Meta Knight slightly more closely, but the Star Warrior seemed to be uninjured but simply out cold.

"Couldn't abandon him, could we?" Captain Falcon took a second to look back, staring straight at the Pokémon. Even though he still kept that air of bravado, Lucario knew that he was just as affected as the other Smashers, a sad smile where his cheerful grin ought to be. Not knowing what else to say, Lucario mutely shook his head, still staring at the puffball in his paws.

Just as the Flyer cleared the last of the runway, they were greeted with a sudden burst of colour as they joined the Smashers' smaller craft, soaring into the clear sky, and the Halberd exploded violently behind them and ceased to exist.

Lucario winced inwardly, and felt Meta Knight squirm slightly in his unconscious state; then fall back motionless.

"Good thing he wasn't awake," muttered the Captain from the front.

In front, seconds too late, Kirby's Dragoon finally gathered up enough momentum to bodily pierce the Gunship, rendering it smoking and out of commission. In silence, the Smashers' various ships flew past the remains of the Gunship, still protruding out of the portal, into Subspace beyond.

---

After Meta Knight woke up, surrounded by faces of concerned Smashers, he probably had grasped what had happened. Nonetheless, if he knew, he didn't seem to want to say anything about it, following the contingent mutely from their parked vehicles in some conveniently located Subspace parking lot.

Eventually, as they were walking, Meta Knight turned to Lucario, who happened to be alongside him. "Thank you," he muttered in his low voice. Slightly startled, Lucario replied. _What for? The Captain saved you, not me._

"I mean, for trusting in me," Meta Knight stopped, turning to stare directly at the Pokémon. "I was knocked out, but still managed to get an idea of what was going on. You," here he pointed an accusing finger at the Pokémon, before relaxing his stance. "You waited for me, too."

Lucario nodded once. _Of course._

They continued to walk on in silence.

---

A golden piece struck insubstantial-looking Subspace floor, ricocheting off with an angry _crack_, bouncing a couple of times and landing a fair distance from the board. The initial arrangement of pieces at the start of the game had been entirely overthrown – and now that it seemed to be the endgame, the Smashers had grown in number and unity, and were steadily beating a path to his residence.

His generals had failed him one by one, and their discarded trophies had been placed by the side of the chessboard. However, with each successive defeat, Tabuu had gotten more and more impatient – and although he wouldn't admit it – more and more concerned that the Smashers might actually stand a chance.

That's why he decided to obliterate them in one go, taking the opportunity when they were in the flying steel can they called the Halberd. As Wario was nowhere to be found, he had Master Hand command Ganondorf and Bowser to take charge of his second-greatest weapon yet.

The Subspace Gunship was the product of countless Primids' labour, as well as the investment of an enormous amount of time. Metal was salvaged wherever possible, throughout the Primids' early excursions into the Smashers' worlds, and it had culminated in something even Tabuu thought looked good. And in fact, being able to unveil it to the Smashers in such spectacular a fashion was something he took a pride in; and how it had utterly decimated the much smaller Halberd was immensely satisfying.

However, there always seemed to be a flaw in the best laid of his plans. Not only were his many generals being picked off one by one, his numerable backup plans failing one after the other; but the two blockheads had been so concerned with the Halberd they forgot to look the other way.

Kirby. Of all the Smashers, his proudest achievement had to be dashed by one of the most innocent-looking, youngest and smallest of them all. One single hit from his Dragoon had bodily pierced the Gunship, straight through the main cannon. And the two idiots had decided it was best to retreat after one hit – just because all _their_ plans to take over their world failed after a single accidental touch by a plumber or a sword-wielding fairy didn't mean _his_ had to.

Nonetheless, that added Kirby to his list of Smashers he now had a personal vendetta with – right next to the pretentious pilot Falco Lombardi for destroying a Dark Cannon right in front of Bowser.

And so now, the trophy representing the Gunship had clattered uselessly to the floor. _Idiots,_ thought Tabuu. However, upon calming down a little, he inspected the piece a little more closely. Battered, definitely. But not completely destroyed… Kirby and the Smashers had evidently left it for dead after Bowser and Ganondorf retreated… perhaps there would be use for it after all.

_Pshing_.

His thoughts were momentarily distracted from the chessboard. A Dark Cannon had gone off in the near vicinity. Tabuu peered over the knuckles of Master Hand, only to see a long figure ascend a platform. And behind him was a discarded Cannon and the trophy of Bowser… well, well, it seemed like Ganondorf was too focused on the promise of power, even to the point of taking out a "fellow general".

And then it clicked.

Ganondorf was now all alone. And with the Smashers all quickly gathering, it would finally be time to unleash his final safeguard, his best weapon yet.

Himself.

Meanwhile, oblivious to the greater picture, Ganondorf stood on the platform, summoning Master Hand. Tabuu allowed the Hand to appear to him, but the Gerudo immediately realized something was up, scrutinizing the Hand closely. Little by little, Tabuu revealed the Chains of Light, slowly leading Ganondorf's gaze until they reached him himself.

Smirking slightly, Tabuu tugged on one of the Chains, one of Master Hand's fingers moving accordingly. At this point, the point was clear – Tabuu was the true mastermind behind the invasion, the true Subspace Emissary.

Enraged, the King of Evil leaped upwards, using Master Hand as a platform to propel himself towards Tabuu. At the same time, his fists clenched and moved backwards, a sinister purple fire gathering about them.

Warlock Punch, one of Ganondorf's most powerful attacks, capable to knocking out multiple opponents in Brawls and greatly feared all throughout his native world and even amongst his own subjects. Some say it rivaled or even bested the legendary Falcon Punch in its raw power and might – and even in their days at the Mansion, even the cocky Captain Falcon always fell back when Ganondorf attempted to throw one of these powerful punches, not daring to even counter it with a Falcon Punch.

And now, it was directed straight at Tabuu.

If Tabuu could, he would have laughed. How could things be getting so easy?

The instant Ganondorf almost touched Tabuu, the blue being rippled a shockwave of energy out from his being. Even in his immobilized state, that was enough not just to defeat Ganondorf and render him a trophy, but also had enough power left over to send the trophy hurtling back down to earth at unimaginable speeds.

As it did, it so happened that Ganondorf's trophy slammed against the back of Master Hand. The result was that at the incredible speed the trophy was travelling, it simply snapped the Chains of Light, one by one, out of Tabuu's grasp. Strictly speaking, Tabuu held on tightly to his end of the Chains – but the momentum was so great that the Chains of Light simply broke under the strain.

An accident, but easily corrected.

Crashing down onto the floor of the cavern, Master Hand took but only a second to get his bearings. And then, wordlessly, he launched himself at Tabuu, reaching speeds so high then the beginnings of a flame started to spark and fly off his bruised knuckles. However, Hand or Gerudo, they met the same resistance – the second shockwave Tabuu released was enough to knock Master Hand out and throw him in a wide arc.

The Hand limply continued that arc, heavily crashing down onto the Subspace floor for the second time in ten seconds; his fingers twitched once, then relaxed and went limp. Almost immediately came the pattering of many feet, and around the corner appeared the contingent of Smashers, who looked on with surprise and shock at Master Hand's limp figure…

…and more importantly, his growing blue wings.

Tabuu's Off Wings were his final, and most powerful asset. Its incredible power meant that he could only use it once in a while, but what did it matter? A single beat of his wings would ensure instant defeat for all Smashers. A shockwave many times the magnitude of that which overpowered Master Hand would transverse the entire cavern, and there would be no way of escaping it.

Most importantly, all the Smashers were now either lying as trophies near the beaten Hand, or standing there and gawking.

Tabuu stretched, glad to finally be able to use his limbs. With Master Hand's defeat, his spell over him was broken, allowing Tabuu to freely move once again. Being able to move once again, his mouth slowly broke out into a broad smirk. Pulling his hands apart, blue motes of light quickly solidified about his back, forming a large set of intricate, deadly wings.

_My move._

---

"Up-a ahead!" came Mario's shout, followed by Falco's "Come on!" Urged on, the remaining Smashers broke out into a run, running across an eerily insubstantial Subspace platform. Lucario's Aura Filters picked up a positively odd Aura, along with an ebbing and diminished Aura of… _Master Hand?_

The Smashers broke out into a large cavern, seemingly composed of nothing, its walls too far apart from each other to be seen, yet gave off the purplish glow associated with Subspace. On the floor, Lucario spied the half-hidden trophy of Ganondorf, but that was quickly forgotten when the monstrous frame of Master Hand came into view a split second later, lying prone and motionless on the floor with scorch marks on his gloved knuckles.

The platform tapered off away from the group of Smashers, ending in a cliff-like protrusion. In this direction, suspended in what seemed like the middle of the gigantic cavern, was an odd blue figure.

Lucario immediately identified it as the source of the odd Aura, but behind it he discerned the indistinguishable features of… he didn't quite know what he was, but he caught some glints of gold, small sparks of bright colour against an otherwise drab purplish sky. Almost like faraway trophies…

A burst of Aura intruded upon his thoughts, Lucario jerking his head up and spying the figure suddenly having wings materialize upon his back. Visible waves of power flowed into these wings, making them brighter by the second, while strong waves of Aura washed into Lucario's vision. The Auras told of confidence, a smug self-satisfaction, and what could be best described as sinister laughter.

The figure started to stretch its arms out, relishing the power as it flowed through its limbs. Behind it, its wings glowed ever brighter, until they illuminated the entire cavern and the purple walls reflected it in a light tint.

The Smashers themselves started to cry out, taking up battle stances. Some were only halfway through drawing out their swords or weapons, but in the middle of that the blue figure beat its wings once, an enormous shockwave traversing the entire cavern.

They saw it before they heard it, but they felt it before they could do anything about it. Lucario felt the icy cold sensation as the shockwave invaded into his torso, bodily lifting him off his feet and blinding his eyes. Through Aura vision, he realized that all the Smashers had met the same fate, and not one had escaped.

At the same time he heard a soft _ping_, and felt a familiar, grotesque sensation spreading from his torso, an inky coldness and rigidity spreading around its fur. A quick check confirmed that everyone else was experiencing the same thing – Auras were quickly diminishing, reducing. Somehow, a single attack had managed to defeat the entire roster of Smashers in one fell swoop.

Lucario's eyes widened, realizing the gravity of the situation. If all of them were rendered as trophies, there would be no one to revive them.

They would be trapped, pinned to their immobile trophies.

As he struggled to stay awake, his Aura flared out and lashed out against the encroaching cold and darkness. Although it did help him stay awake for longer, but in the end his willpower and ability could not overcome the incredible power behind the attack, and Lucario once again begun to fall into semi-unconsciousness, mentally thrashing about as he descended.

As the blackness claimed his vision, and his Aura senses started to shut down, he received a final burst of Aura from the outside world. It was from the odd winged creature, an explosion of pride and smugness and above all, an overwhelming sense of victory. The creature made no excuses for his smugness, savoring his victory and basking in it, such that even with his rapidly diminishing capacity, Lucario could pick it up. And with it, there was a single word that permeated his diminishing consciousness.

_Checkmate_.

---

In some aspects, being trophyised was even worse than his being trapped in the staff. At least in the crystal, Lucario could still occasionally see Aura-tinted, crystal-hued bluish visions of the outside world once in a while. While it was true those were cruel temptations to an imprisoned Pokémon, at least it gave Lucario something to focus his energies on.

As a trophy, he saw nothing.

It was like suddenly being stripped of the five senses, not being able to see, hear, touch and feel anything, suspended in a murky black void. For Lucario, at least his Aura senses were still barely functioning, allowing him to think and to telepathically speak to himself, although that admittedly wasn't much use.

However, one sense it didn't render useless was the heart, and it was here where Lucario was repeatedly stabbed multiple times, over and over again. The exasperated sighs were only magnified with his telepathy, immersing the Pokémon further in his loneliness.

Perhaps he was a little too hasty… Meta Knight was but one Smasher, and perhaps he trusted too easily – once again. Trusting in the Smashers to keep safe together, trusting in each other's ability to revive each other…

In the end, this was the result he got – his just desserts, he supposed.

If he could have, Lucario would have sat down and kneaded his head in his paws, but since he couldn't, nor could he even feel his paws, he simply didn't try.

---

After an unknown period of time – it could have been seconds, or it could have been centuries – there was a flash of colour in his field of vision. Blearily blinking once or twice, he found himself staring at a metal-plated ceiling.

Suddenly the feeling of the cold metal he was lying on rushed into his back, the Pokémon immediately sitting upright. Data from his six senses suddenly flooded his brain, temporarily overwhelming it with so much information that he felt giddy. As the Aura-blue haze started to clear from his eyes, he discovered who it was that rescued him.

In front of him were the duo from the Halberd – the diminutive Meta Knight and the mercenary Snake. The human raised his Rocket Launcher, leaping past Lucario to beat down a couple of Primids and finish off a group further away, as the Aura Pokémon stared blankly on. Meta Knight waved Galaxia to get Lucario's attention, the short sword making _swish_es in the air.

"Come!" Turning, he half-flew, half-glided down the rest of the corridor.

Should he trust him once again?

In that split second, a Giant Primid suddenly loomed out of the ground, in front of Lucario. The Pokémon suddenly looked up, staggering backwards one step in amazement and shock. The Primid raised one gloved hand, ready to strike out –

Then there was a ball of fire and heat, Snake suddenly appearing beside Lucario. "Go!" Letting loose another round of rocket fire at the Giant Primid, Snake grabbed Lucario's forepaw and ran.

Unfortunately for the spy, he misjudged and grabbed his paw-spike instead. Suddenly pulling his hand away, Snake only paused just enough to grip fur instead of spike before continuing to drag the slightly-dazed Lucario through the corridor.

Lucario struggled out, wrenching his paw from the spy's grasp. _Sorry, are you –_ "Fine," completed Snake. "But hurry up! We're going to need all the Smashers we can get…" Seeing him point down the darkening corridor, Lucario followed Snake's finger, seeing a distant Meta Knight waiting and beckoning for them to follow.

He made up his mind.

_Let's go._

---

The rest of the story is well-known. The Smashers reconvene, including the troublemaker Wario and surprisingly enough, Bowser and Ganondorf, on the steps up towards Tabuu's Residence. Sonic the Hedgehog breaks through to Subspace at the last possible minute, shattering Tabuu's Off Wings and finally crippling his final line of defense, forcing him into a head-to-head battle with the Smashers.

With a force of twenty-something Smashers against Tabuu, it was still a close victory, but a victory nonetheless.

After Tabuu's defeat, Subspace began to rumble, as Tabuu reflexively relinquished the power holding the portions of their worlds together. Hurriedly, the Smashers entered into a bubble, hoping they would emerge somewhere safe. They ended up on a cliff overlooking where the Isle of Ancients once was – not far from the Mansion, but still a sad reminder of the time past.

Everyone had immediately assumed the ghost and the curse of Tabuu had permanently been put to rest, after they had invaded his Residence and sent him careening into the dark abysses of the Subspace cavern.

Truth be told, the Isle of Ancients was not entirely lost, nor were Tabuu's pawns utterly decimated. Although none of the Smashers saw it, the chessboard was not entirely emptied after Tabuu fell. A few pieces remained in Tabuu's side: one was a replica of the Isle of Ancients, a glowing bubble permanently suspended in Subspace. Another was a Bob-omb, and it was only a short walk from the Isle to the Mansion… where the Smart Shields' controls were located…

Another piece was a portal; conveniently disguised as a Smart Bomb, ready to be activated when he was ready to launch a counteroffensive.

And the last piece was now twirled about by long blue fingers, before being delicately placed in a remote corner of the chessboard, revealing a rather wrecked, nearly-functional, but not entirely defeated Gunship.

So, the game ended not in a checkmate, but in a pause. One side had been forced to the edge of defeat, but fortunately for him the other party up and left the game for tea before it could properly conclude.

How fortunate.

The typical movie clinché – never assume your enemy is dead, even if you have got him into a stranglehold on the chessboard – finish the game properly and you will be rewarded. However, like the multiple worlds and kingdoms the Smashers hailed from, antagonists were always given the – accidental – chance of a comeback.

The next round, he would be even more careful.

---

The roof of the Smash Mansion was seemingly deserted. Yet as he stepped out, he knew that someone was there, watching him. Putting a foot forward, the roof tiles clattered loudly, announcing his not-so-silent arrival as he grimaced. Ignoring them, he continued walking, until he saw a silhouette seated at the edge of the roof.

The Pokémon Trainer attempted to tiptoe across to where Lucario was seated, but only succeeded in making even more noise. Giving up, he walked over normally, stopping a couple of paces behind the Pokémon, who did not stir.

Hearing the Trainer clear his throat, Lucario tilted his head to the side, allowing himself to catch Pokémon Trainer in his physical vision. The Trainer pointed at the spot beside Lucario, the Pokémon's gaze obediently following his finger.

"That seat taken?"

A brief startled look crossed Lucario's face for an instant, replaced immediately by his usually stony expression. However, he shifted a little away from the spot, patting it lightly with a paw. _No, not at all._

They sat in silence for a while, Pokémon Trainer occasionally humming broken, disconnected tunes before faltering into silence, whereas Lucario on the other hand tried his very best not to make any eye contact with the Trainer at all. Very soon, the Trainer started fiddling with some Pokéballs, but never made to throw them, only allowing them to slip continually from his fingers.

Eventually Lucario stirred, the Trainer perking up. Still not looking at the Trainer, the Pokémon stared off into the distance, where the darkened sky started to blend into the first signs of day.

_I guess I should apologize…_

---

The receding night found both the Trainer and Lucario together on the roof, watching the daylight break. Or more accurately, Lucario watching the arrival of the new day – the Trainer had fallen fast asleep, silently resting, sprawled on the Mansion's roof.

Eventually, as the dawn finally broke over the Smash Mansion, the roof was lit up slowly, bit by bit with gold, Lucario quietly getting up to leave. However, at the slight jingling sound of the staff, the sleeping Trainer suddenly jolted awake, rubbing the remaining specks of sleep out of his eyes. Lucario waited for him to scramble up, offering a paw to help, but the Trainer waved it aside and quickly stood upright.

"To the future?" he asked, extending his hand out to the Pokémon.

---

_As the Smashers turned away from the cliff, heading back to the Smash Mansion together, __Meta Knight extended his hand towards Lucario._

_Paw in glove, the two fellow Smashers faced each other, thankful for the others' company. Meta Knight's brow creased in a sign of a __uncommon grin, his eyes lighting up just a little bit more – Lucario catching that small sign and returning it with a rare, small smile of his own._

---

Doing something he would not have thought possible only a few weeks before, Lucario slowly grasped the Trainer's hand in both paws, locking his eyes steadily within the Trainer's own. Even though it went in defiance against all that Lucario had thought and believed before, at the moment the Trainer's hand and his paw came into contact, something changed. Between the both of them, they shared a hidden smile as the dawn sky started to catch fire and blaze into morning.

_I trust it will be __good._

**End**

---

_Introduction__  
Claustrophobia  
_**Checkmate  
**_Days Of Our Lives  
Remembrance  
Reflection_


End file.
